Karma, he told himself, I’m praying for the blood I’ve spilled. But even as he tried to accept the cards fate had dealt him, his head felt heavy, as if being poked with a thousand needles, as if on the verge of exploding.
-Puja Changoiwala,’Gangster On The Run’
This is the story of 90’s Dombivali extortionist and hitmen Rahul Jadhav aka ‘Bhiku’ his advent into the underworld, his arrogance, petty fame, list and methodology of crime, prison life, judicial trials, fight with drugs and alcoholism and eventually winning over addiction through rehabilitation also giving up heinous crime world.
Today, he is a transformed man, an ultra-marathoner and a de-addiction counsellor.
Unlike many biographies of a gangster who took to crime and addiction due to circumstances, this book doesn’t make a heroic defence. Nor does the book slain the Indian police or judicial system. Rather the author has biographed Rahul in the truest sense as a person who finally tears down to guilt and takes up running to make peace with his past by shattering marathon records.
The portrayal of the underworld world, murders and extortion is astonishing. The sacrifice of Rahul’s parents and siblings is really heart-breaking.
Puja Changoiwala is an award-winning journalist; her research and writing is wisely reflected in the book. Thank you Harpercollinsindia and Thereaderstribe for the copy.
Recommended for all those who love to read criminal memoirs, true crime biographies and rehabilitation stories.
Bombay Reader 