Chhota Shakeel

Chhota Shakeel (born Mohammed Shakeel Babu Miyan Shaikh; 31 December 1955) is an Indian crime boss and a high-ranking leader of the D-Company, a criminal group based in South Asia. He joined the D-Company in 1988 under the kingpin Dawood Ibrahim, and was reportedly responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the criminal group. Shakeel became one of the most-wanted men in India after his alleged participation in the 1993 Bombay bombings. He is also wanted by the U.S. government for international drug trafficking.

He has been sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act in the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List by the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Early life Chhota Shakeel was born in Bombay, Maharashtra, India, on 31 December 1955. Some sources indicate the year was 1960. His birth name was Mohammed Shakeel Babu Miyan Shaikh. According to his Interpol criminal profile, Shakeel is tall, has black hair and eyes, and speaks Hindi, English, and Urdu.

In the D-Company, Shakeel was known as the CEO, and reported directly to Dawood. According to the Maharashtra police, he reportedly received support from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's intelligence agency, in his criminal operations. Authorities believe that even if Shakeel was in fact dead, his voice impersonator Merchant would likely continue mimicking his voice to continue running criminal activities.

In mid-2016, D-company lieutenant and Dawood's brother Anees Ibrahim had a fallout with Shakeel over the D-Company's operations in Dubai. Anees wanted to oust Shakeel of his leadership role. Shakeel organized a faction within the D-Company to counter Anees' efforts. Dawood refused to take sides as he wanted to maintain his friendship with Shakeel and ties with his sibling Anees. Other high-ranking leaders of the D-Company were confused about whose orders to follow, and this infighting created tensions within the criminal group. In the clip, a man known as Bilal was heard telling a relative of Shakeel that Shakeel had died of a heart attack and that Dawood's brother Anees was taking his earnings. The Royal Thai Police had reportedly sent a letter to Interpol saying that Shakeel was dead and was no longer subject to the Interpol's Red Notice.

An investigation conducted by India Today TV in 2018 concluded that this scheme was fake. The letter provided by the Royal Thai Police was signed by Piya Uthayo, an officer who was employed in another department. The police discovered that the fax number used to send the letter to Interpol was based out of Bangkok, Thailand. The probe led to the arrest of a German national who confessed to the Bangkok police that he was sent to Thailand to send the letter on orders from an Indian national. Investigators believe that Dawood was responsible for planning this scheme after disagreements with Shakeel. Dawood's brothers Anees and Shakeel have tried to take over the D-Company's second-in-command position. India Today TV tried reaching Shakeel for comment but his three mobile numbers were unreachable.

There are several versions of Shakeel's purported death. One version suggests that he died of a heart attack shortly after a meeting with members of Odessa in Islamabad. He was reportedly transported by air to a hospital in Rawalpindi, but was declared dead upon arrival. Most of Shakeel's alleged associates, Bilal, Mohammed Rashid, Iqbal Salim, Yusuf Raja, and Parvez Khawaja, reportedly left the D-Company after his death. Other unconfirmed reports stated that Shakeel had broken away from Dawood's partnership prior to his death. Sources close to Dawood's inner circle stated that Anees took over the operations headed by Shakeel on 5 January 2019. D-Company was reportedly not able to find a replacement for Shakeel's void in Tajikistan and took longer than expected to appoint a successor. The infighting between Shakeel and Anees' faction reportedly ended after both parties agreed on certain terms following Shakeel's rumoured death.