From notorious criminal to Muslim evangelist, Thammanam Shaji has donned many garbs in life.

The son of a casual labourer at Thammanam, a shanty town in Ernakulam district , Shajahan had strayed into several petty cases, involving street-side scuffles and pick-pocketing as a teenager. By 20, he had moulded himself into a small-time hoodlum, frequenting lock-ups in several police stations in the city. When he got out of jail he formed a criminal gang, then an unprecedented development in the city. Shajahan adopted the name Shaji and prefixed the name of Thammanam locality.

In 1993, Shaji became the head of a 100-strong criminal gang. In the first half of the last decade, thanks to Shaji & Co thuggery was just a phone call away. Initially, he did the dirty work for political parties, particularly the Congress and CPI(M), which wanted to settle political rivalries. Soon, he became a dreaded criminal whose stranglehold was spread over the city and nearby areas. He extorted money from business groups, blackmailed illegal business houses, executed “quotation (supari) crimes” and burgled houses. Illegal massage parlours roped in his services, while local financiers used Shaji as a recovery machine.

Shaji, however, was not your usual criminal. He never targeted women. He had even appointed private secretaries, recalled a police officer. At below 50 kg, he hardly fit the prototype of the marauding muscleman. Shaji and his gang, however, faced a stiff challenge from another criminal, Vettil Suresh, and his gang. The streets of Kochi were witness to many bloody exchanges between the two gangs. By the end of the last decade, Shaji had been slapped with over 100 cases. Though he faced a barrage of attempt to murder charges, he was never charged.

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