Pappu Kalani Biography 
Pappu Kalani is a criminal-politician from Ulhasnagar who rose to prominence in the 1980s. Earlier associated with Indian National Congress, he has won Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections in 1986, followed by 1995 and 1999 as an independent candidate supported by Congress. His real name is Suresh Budharmal Kalani. His open conflicts with another criminal-politician, Gopal Rajwani is famous and its bloodsheds resulted in his arrest as well. A brief period he had to keep himself away from politics though he returned back in a bang. It is widely believed that Gopal Rajwani was murdered by his own goons and he masterminded the crime. Served jail several times, he is currently on bail in 19 cases including eight murders.
He was born on 7th August 1951 into a wealthy family. His uncle Dunichand Kalani was the president of the local unit of Indian National Congress. The family had liquor business and ran hotels as well. They owned a number of distilleries as well. In the 1970s Ulhasnagar emerged as a place known for its antisocial activities like forging, liquor, killings and illegal construction and unauthorized industrial units. Numerous gangs emerged during this period with the strong support of politicians.
Pappu Kalani's uncle Keemat Kalani ran the gang headed by Chiman Tejwani while Gop Behrani employed the gang of Govind Vachani and Gopal Rajwani. Both these gangs were linked to Dawood Ibrahim. Amounts of money were paid to journalists and media. Though Pappu Kalani and Gopal Rajwani joined hands together to rise to prominence, in 1985 following a dispute over money, he fell out with Gopal. By that time, he became a prominent congress leader. In between both were accused of murdering editor A V Narayan of Blitz magazine and Gopal was arrested in 1982. But they got released as no witness came forward to testify.
Currently he has 19 registered cases in his name, which includes 8 murders and he is currently on bail. Since 2004, he is contesting as a candidate of the Republican Party of India. In the municipal elections of 2007, his party earned only 15 seats (out of 76), though his muscle power still has influence in Ulhasnagar.
Published: N/A
Updated: December 24, 2015
