J Dey: The specialist on encounters,underworld

Dey,who worked with Hindustan Lever Ltd till 1994,was also a freelance photojournalist for some time. He joined The Indian Express in 1996,and soon gained access into the Customs Department,and later,into the underworld.

Among those who covered the “encounter killings” in the 1990s,he saw,and reported,first-hand the systematic decimation of Mumbai’s underworld. Recently,he repeatedly wrote that the underworld was back in action in Mumbai,in new forms and with new interests in the globalised world.

“His biggest strength was his knack for bridging the gap with the lower-ranking policemen and getting information; he built sources from bottom to top,” said S Hussain Zaidi,resident editor of The Asian Age in Mumbai and Dey’s contemporary and colleague for many years at The Indian Express.

From 1996 to 2004,Dey was a consistent byline on the pages of The Indian Express,also writing a weekly column on the workings of the underworld,titled “Notes From The Underworld”,in which he wrote about dons and their molls,the well-known gangsters as well as the lesser-known goons.

Speaking on condition of anonymity,a former policeman known as an “encounter specialist” said Dey’s reports were so accurate that encounter reviews often depended on his reportage. “From the weapon that was used to the location to the impact of the killing,Dey would get every detail correct. The Special Branch of the police still has some of his reports,” he said.

Dey,who was married to fellow journalist Shubha Sharma,lived in Powai. A keen nature enthusiast,he was also an avid trekker and loved driving off to Lonavala for a plate of bhurjee.

Those who worked with him remember his quiet smile,his wealth of knowledge about the underworld as well as his extensive sources across Mumbai and the region. “He covered high-profile news for over two decades and today has become the subject of shocking news for the journalist fraternity,” said a close friend and a fellow journalist who knew Dey since the early 1990s .

Dey’s recent reports targeted oil mafia

In the last few months,J Dey had targeted the alleged oil mafia operating in Maharashtra,off the coast of Mumbai. Following a series of reports he had most recently written about an alleged Rs 10,000-crore scam involving pilfered oil from neighbouring states,mainly Gujarat and MP,which is allegedly smuggled into Mumbai through the state’s porous coastal belt. Following the recent shootout in Mumbai’s Pakmodia Street,in which the bodyguard-cum-driver of Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Iqbal Kaskar was shot,Dey had also written about the possible conspiracy behind the attack.

A colleague at Mid-Day said Dey was gathering material for a report on the Dawood stronghold in south Mumbai,allegedly handled by his sister Haseena Parker. He was also reportedly preparing to expose the involvement of a senior police officer in a real estate dispute in Mumbai.