The Bhais of Bengaluru

For years, Bengaluru’s underworld has been ruled by shrewd and notorious dons, who grew from small-time extortionists to dreaded names in real-estate circles. Kodigehalli Mune Gowda was crowned the city’s first ‘don’ back in the 1960s, but it was in the ’80s and the ’90s that powerhouses like Muthappa Rai, Sreedhar, ‘Boot House’ Kumar aka Oil Kumar, Bekkina Kannu Rajendra and Srirampura Kitty emerged.

In Bhais of Bengaluru, Jyoti Shelar, a print journalist with ten years of work experience as a field reporter, explores this mysterious and fascinating underbelly of India’s Garden City.