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{{Short description|Indian criminal (1944-1982)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name = Manya Surve
| image = Real pic of Manya Surve.jpg
| birth_name = Manohar Arjun Surve
| birth_date = {{birth date|1944|08|08|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Ranpar, [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British India]] (present day [[Ratnagiri district|Ratnagiri]], [[Maharashtra]], India)
| death_date = {{death date and age|1982|01|11|1944|08|08|df=yes}}
| alma_mater = [[Kirti M. Doongursee College|Kirti M. Doongursee College, Mumbai]]
| death_cause = [[Gunshot wounds]]
| criminal_charge = [[Murder]], [[Looting]], [[Trafficking]]
| criminal status = Killed in encounter
}}
{{Mscn|date=January 2026}}

'''Manohar Arjun “Manya” Surve''' (8 August 1944 – 11 January 1982), was an Indian [[gangster]] based in [[Mumbai]]. He was one of the educated gangsters who graduated from college and was well known for challenging and defeating existing gangs.

Surve was known for his daredevilry and strategic planning. As a young man and graduate of [[Kirti College]], Surve was implicated in a murder that he did not commit and was sentenced to imprisonment in [[Yerwada Jail]].<ref name="timesofindia.indiatimes.com">{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/The-real-story-behind-Shootout-At-Wadala/articleshow/17967381.cms|title=The real story behind Shootout At Wadala|work=The Times of India}}</ref> Within just two years of activity, his crew rose to such prominence that the Pathans, who had ruled the underworld for over two decades, sought his help in murdering the [[Konkani language|Konkani]]-speaking Kaskar brothers, [[Dawood Ibrahim|Dawood]] and [[Shabir Ibrahim Kaskar|Shabir]], the leaders of their archrival gang, [[D-Company]].

Following the murder of Shabir Ibrahim, Surve's fellow accomplices began to fall off one by one. Noticing this, Surve laid low. Meanwhile, local law enforcement was preparing operations to reduce persistent mob violence with an onslaught of targeted assassinations. Inspectors Isaque Bagwan and Raja Tambhat, with Senior Inspector Y. D. Bhide, was put in charge of taking down Surve.<ref name="timesofindia.indiatimes.com"/> Surve was killed in 1982 by the Maharashtra police in what is regarded as Mumbai's first [[encounter killing]].<ref name="Bagwan">{{cite news|url=http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/may/300509-ACP-Isaque-Bagwan-Manya-Surve-police-encounter-terror-metropolis.htm|title=Bagwan dada|newspaper=[[Mid-Day]]|date=30 May 2009|access-date=31 March 2012}}</ref><ref name="expressindia.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.expressindia.com/news/ie/daily/19970726/20750653.html|title=Decorated cops parked aside as seniors pass the buck|newspaper=[[The Indian Express]]|date=26 July 1997|access-date=31 March 2012|archive-date=1 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001160029/http://www.expressindia.com/news/ie/daily/19970726/20750653.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Biography==
===Early years===
Manohar Arjun Surve was born in 1944 in the village of Ranpar in the [[Konkan]] Ratnagiri region, located in the Central Deccan Division of the erstwhile [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British Indian Empire]]. The village is now a part of Ratnagiri Taluka, [[Ratnagiri District]], [[Maharashtra]], India. Surve moved to [[Bombay]] with his mother and stepfather in 1952. For years, he lived in different [[chawl]]s in [[Elphinstone Road]] and [[Lower Parel]]. He was a Chemistry graduate from [[Kirti M. Doongursee College|Kirti M. Doongursee College, Mumbai]], achieving a high score of 78%. He then fell into street life, eventually forming a crew consisting of former classmates. During these years, he was introduced to his best friend and associate Sumesh Desai through his stepbrother Bhargav Dada. Dada was a feared criminal from Agar Bazar in [[Dadar]]. In 1969, Surve, Dada and associate Manya Podhkar were all charged in the homicide and gang assault of a man named Dandekar. The trio were soon arrested by Police Inspector E. S. Dabholkar and sentenced to life imprisonment.<ref name="Surve">{{cite news|url=http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=21225|title=City's first encounter ended two years of urban dacoity|newspaper=[[The Indian Express]]|date=22 June 2002|access-date=31 March 2012}}{{dead link|date=February 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

===Imprisonment and escape===
While incarcerated at the [[Yerwada Central Jail]] in [[Pune]], Surve developed a fierce rivalry with gangster Suhas ("Potya Bhai") Bhatkar. Annoyed by Surve's terror tactics, the prison authorities had him transferred to [[Ratnagiri]] jail. There, he took part in a [[hunger strike]] and lost almost 20 kg before being transferred to the local civil hospital. Surve utilized this opportunity to escape on 14 November 1979 and returned to the streets of Mumbai, having served over nine years of his sentence.<ref name="Surve"/>

===Mumbai underworld===
After he returned to Mumbai, Surve formed another outfit and recruited his two trusted lieutenants, Sheikh Munir from [[Dharavi]] and Vishnu Patil from [[Dombivli]]. They were soon joined by another gangster, Uday Shetty, in March 1980.<ref name="Surve"/>

The group's first robbery took place on 5 April 1980, in which they stole an [[Hindustan Ambassador|Ambassador car]]. The vehicle was later used to loot Rs 5,700 from the Laxmi Trading Company near Currey Road. On 15 April, Surve and his associates brutally assaulted and nearly killed Sheikh Aziz, an enemy of Sheikh Munir, near Kala Killa in the Dharavi slum. On 30 April, they stabbed a police constable when he was escorting rival Vijay Ghadge to a police station in Dadar.<ref name="Surve"/>

Borrowing the plot from a [[James Hadley Chase]] novel, which he had read in prison, Surve decided to loot money from the government milk scheme in a bid to gain money as well as recognition from the Mumbai underworld. The group, with the addition of Dayanand, Parshuram Katkar, and Kishore Sawant, stole a car near Badal Bijlee Barkha in [[Mahim]] and went on to execute a heist of Rs 1.26 lakh near [[Govandi]]. The stolen vehicle was later found abandoned near [[Hyderabad (Sind) National Collegiate Board#Colleges|National College]] in [[Bandra]], exactly as penned in the Chase novel.<ref name="Surve"/>

Another famous robbery undertaken by Surve's group included Rs 1.6 lakh from Canara Bank's branch on Sion-Trombay road and Duke and Sons Company at [[Deonar]].<ref name=" Surve"/> Surve's criminal activities were not confined to heists and robberies. He was also involved in narcotics trafficking, as he saw that the profits derived from it were considerable.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=33555|title=Docks nurtured city's underworld|newspaper=[[The Indian Express]]|date=26 October 2002|access-date=31 March 2012}}{{dead link|date=February 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

The group's various successful heists and robberies brought a tremendous amount of attention. As a result, the police were put under great pressure to deal with Surve, and they launched Operation Manya Surve to capture and curb his criminal activities.<ref name="Surve"/>

On 22 June 1981, Sheikh Munir was picked up from a chemical company near [[Kalyan, India|Kalyan]]. A few days later, Dayanand and Parshuram Katkar were arrested at a lodge in [[Goregoan]]. Anticipating his capture, Surve slipped into an aide's hideout in Bhiwandi but quickly fled on 19 November 1981. When police finally broke into the apartment, they recovered a hand grenade, a country-made revolver, and live ammunition.<ref name="Surve"/>

===Encounter===
On 11 January 1982, Surve took a taxi to the Ambedkar College junction in [[Wadala]]. It is believed Mumbai police received a tip from [[Dawood Ibrahim]] that Surve would be arriving at a beauty parlour near the Ambedkar College junction there.<ref name=" Surve"/> It is also theorised that his girlfriend Vidya revealed his whereabouts at that time. At around 1:30 pm, 18 Crime Branch officers split into three teams and waited for him to arrive. After twenty minutes, Surve was spotted exiting a taxi to pick up his girlfriend Vidya.<ref name=" Surve"/>

After noticing several men closing in on him and taking positions, Surve pulled out his [[Webley & Scott]] revolver. However, before he could fire a shot, police officers Raja Tambat and [[Isaque Bagwan]] fired five bullets into his chest and shoulder.<ref name="Surve"/>

Surve was dragged from the scene and put in an ambulance. This encounter was the end of Surve's spree of urban crime. This happened due to his involvement in the murder of Dawood's brother Shabbir.

Surve's death became known as Mumbai's first recorded [[encounter killing]].<ref name="Bagwan"/><ref name="expressindia.com"/> The rate of encounter killings increased in the late 1980s and further rose after the [[1993 Mumbai bombings]]; a total of 622 alleged criminals were killed in police encounters from 1982 to 2004.<ref name="Rise And Fall of the Killer Cops">{{cite web | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/deep-focus/Rise-And-Fall-Of-The-Killer-Cops/articleshow/746737.cms? | title=Rise And Fall of the Killer Cops | work=The Times of India| date=19 June 2004 | access-date=4 September 2016 | author=Anil Singh}}</ref><ref name="Encounter Specialists">{{cite news | url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/storyOld.php?storyId=12767 | title=Encounter Specialists | newspaper=The Indian Express | date=10 November 2002 | access-date=4 September 2016 | author=J. Dey}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The life of Manya Surve inspired and provided the basis for the 1990 gangster film, ''[[Agneepath (1990 film)|Agneepath]]''. The film's main character, Vijay Dinanath Chauhan, played by [[Amitabh Bachchan]], was heavily based on Surve. Bachchan's portrayal of Chauhan earned him a [[National Film Awards|National Award for Best Actor]].<ref>[http://www.rediff.com/movies/dec/27sat.htm The predator as prey] - 27 December 1997, Rediff</ref> It was remade with the same name, ''[[Agneepath (2012 film)|Agneepath]]'', in 2012.

The life of Surve is portrayed in the 2013 [[Bollywood]] film ''[[Shootout at Wadala]]'', starring [[John Abraham (actor)|John Abraham]] as Surve.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/The-real-story-behind-Shootout-At-Wadala/articleshow/17967381.cms |title=The real story behind Shootout at Wadala |date=11 January 2013 |newspaper=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Organised crime in India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Surve, Manya}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Criminals from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Indian robbers]]
[[Category:Indian gangsters killed in encounters]]
[[Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by India]]
[[Category:Indian people convicted of murder]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian murderers]]
[[Category:Indian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment]]
[[Category:Indian gangsters]]
[[Category:1982 deaths]]

Manya Surve - Revision history

RuebenFrankfurte at 02:57, 6 May 2026