Archive · 5 Nov 2025
3 Decades After JJ Hospital Shootout, Trial Continues Amidst Underworld Shadows
Long ago, in 1992, bad guys attacked a hospital in Mumbai to kill a prisoner named Shailesh Haldankar.
They used powerful weapons like machine guns.
The prisoner and two police officers guarding him were killed, and others were hurt.
The police said this was done by the gang of a famous gangster named Dawood Ibrahim, as revenge for killing one of his friends.
Many people were arrested, and some were found guilty.
Now, after 32 years, one of the men accused in the attack, Tribhuvan Singh, who was hiding, has been caught.
He says he's not the person they think he is, but the police say his old injuries match the records.
The court is still trying to figure out the truth after all this time.
A court denied bail and discharge to Tribhuvan Singh in the 1992 JJ Hospital shootout case.
Singh, absconding for 32 years, claims he is not the accused Shrikant Rai alias Pradhan.
The 1992 shootout occurred in Ward Number 18 of JJ Hospital, resulting in the deaths of prisoner Shailesh Haldankar and two police constables, with six others injured.
The police alleged the attack was a conspiracy by Dawood Ibrahim's gang to avenge the killing of Ibrahim Parkar, whom they suspected Haldankar helped identify.
The trial continues with Singh disputing his identity and the reliability of long-term witness identification, while another accused, Farooq Mansuri, also remains in custody.
- Who
- Assailants linked to Dawood Ibrahim's gang and accused Tribhuvan Singh and Farooq Mansuri.
- What
- A shootout inside a hospital ward targeting a prisoner, leading to multiple deaths and injuries, with a current trial involving an accused absconding for 32 years.
- When
- September 12, 1992 (shootout); November 1 (court decision on bail/discharge plea); 2024 (arrest of Tribhuvan Singh).
- Where
- Sir JJ Hospital, Mumbai; Mirzapur jail, Uttar Pradesh (location of Tribhuvan Singh's arrest).
- Why
- Revenge for the killing of Ibrahim Parkar, an aide of Dawood Ibrahim, with the D Gang suspecting prisoner Shailesh Haldankar of assisting in Parkar's identification.
Tribhuvan Singh
Mumbai Police
Identity Dispute
Tribhuvan Singh
Tribhuvan Singh claims he is not Shrikant Rai alias Pradhan, the person accused in the case, and that his identity should be decided at trial.
Mumbai Police
The police allege that Tribhuvan Singh is Pradhan, citing matching bullet injury records from a Surat hospital where Pradhan was treated after the shootout.
Reliability of Evidence
Tribhuvan Singh
Singh argues that witness identification after 32 years is unreliable.
Mumbai Police
The court is proceeding with the trial, implying that the evidence, including witness testimony and potentially the injury comparison, is sufficient to be examined in court.
- Event
- Sir JJ Hospital Shootout
- Date
- September 12, 1992
- Location
- Sir JJ Hospital, Mumbai
- Alleged Perpetrators
- Dawood Ibrahim's gang
- Victims
- Prisoner Shailesh Haldankar, 2 police constables, 6 others injured
- Key Accused (Original Case)
- Dawood Ibrahim, Chhota Shakeel, Subhashsingh Thakur
- Current Accused
- Tribhuvan Singh (alias Pradhan), Farooq Mansuri