Massive Heart Attack Ends Underworld Queen Hasina Parkar's 25-Year Reign

Mumbai: Dawood Ibrahim's younger sister, Hasina Ibrahim Parkar, passed away in a hospital in the wanted underworld don's bastion of Dongri in South Mumbai yesterday. The police said that 51-year-old Hasina, also known as Hasina Aapa (elder sister) and the underworld queen, died of a massive heart attack.

Hasina used to stay with her son Alishah and a 21-year-old-daughter in Nagpada's, Gordon House building, opposite the local police station. She had combined two flats in the building's first floor into a luxurious residence.

"Parkar started feeling uneasy around 2.30 pm on Sunday afternoon and was rushed to Habib Hospital in Dongri, where she was declared dead around 3.15 pm," said Additional Commissioner of Police (South Region) Krushna Prakash.

Around 150 people gathered in Nagpada to make preparations for the funeral once the news spread, and more guests and relatives were expected to arrive from the Khed area of Konkan, where Dawood hails from.

"She has died in a very good month the holy month of Ramzan. We are waiting for her relatives. We will have iftar and offer regular prayers in mosques and then take her body for burial to the Bada Kabaristan area in Marine Lines around 11 pm," said a female relative.

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There were more police officers deployed at Gordon House building in the evening than there were mourners. Police officers from the Crime Branch, local police stations, anti-terrorism squad and even officials from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) were reportedly in the area.

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"We have come to collect information about the people who are still in touch with India's most wanted gangster. Those who are in his good books will surely either come to the funeral or send some message, and our eyes are on them," said a Crime Branch officer.

Police officers, however, said they did not expect Dawood or Chhota Shakeel to come to India. "It is not possible for them to even think of entering India. Phone calls from Pakistan are being tapped and we will get all the information we need about Dawood's movements. Since the time the BJP-led Modi government came in power at the Centre, Dawood and his D-Company have been quiet," said the officer.

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"Hasina and her children did not trouble neighbours at all. She used to go out regularly in her white Toyota Fortuner, and a Toyota Qualis before that, but never troubled anyone. She would greet people when she saw them," said Vilas Torane, who stays in the same building.

Game of thrones

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Having been booked by the Mumbai Crime Branch for extortion, Hasina had told the police and court that she had stopped talking to her brother Dawood after her husband Ibrahim Parkar was gunned down by Arun Gawli's men in 1991.

The truth, police officials say, is almost exactly the opposite. After Dawood retaliated by killing Gawli's shooters at J J Hospital, Hasina's rise as the underworld queen began. And, after Dawood fled the country, Hasina started taking care of Dawood's properties and interests in Mumbai.

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Police officials said she would take cuts from builders for development and redevelopment and almost no building could be constructed from South Mumbai right up to Bandra and Kurla without her assent. She would also settle disputes between parties, and her word was final. They said she was in regular touch with Dawood and must have met him several times during her trips to Dubai and Pakistan.

She had two sons, Danish and Alishah, and the former was Dawood's favourite nephew. Danish was very active and it was thought that he would be a great help to Hasina in her dealings, but he passed away in a car accident while returning from Khed in 2006. Alishah, sources said, is comparatively very quiet and did not fit in with the activities of the gang.

Tough times

This is not the first time a don will not be able to attend a major family event:

In February 2014: Underworld don Chhota Rajan's mother, Laxmi Sadashiv Nikhalje (88) passed away due to prolonged illness in Chembur. Rajan could not give light to his mother's pyre since the funeral took place in the watchful gaze of thousands of cops, who were waiting to net him.

In May 2011, a deadly attempt was made on Dawood's brother Iqbal Kaskar's life at his South Mumbai residence by Chhota Rajan. Dawood could not even make a call to his brother for fear of getting traced.

On August 20, 2010, 83-year-old Babumiyan Mayuddin Sheikh, father of underworld don Chhota Shakeel, and a resident of Temkar Mohalla area of South Mumbai, died while undergoing treatment at a local hospital. Shakeel could not make it to the funeral procession and is believed to have seen it through a video call

In 2005, Dawood could not attend his daughter Mahrukh's wedding in Dubai due to the presence of intelligence officials and the media. If sources are to be believed, he had watched the wedding through video conferencing. There were also reports that the don had organised a private reception with a few family members in Karachi.