Abyss International1

The working:
Edubhai advised Abyss bhai to give targets to each BU Head (Revenue and suggested plans)
and they better execute the same. Abyss bhai did not like to hear excuses.

There was resistance to new arrangement, as expected. For example, Bizzare Siana, who
managed Kalyan – Bhivandi area with his own gang of sharp shooters, kidnappers, extortionists
and havala operators was made head of “Contract Killing” but had to borrow the shooters from
Bhopali Bhai, head of competency center “Sharp shooters”. At times, they did not listen to him
or Bhopali Bhai gave him trainee shooters for critical operations with small weapons where
AK47s were required. He also felt his area of operation was truncated and was seriously
considering joining some other gang.

There were others who were also not comfortable, but Abyss bhai paid them well besides no
one dared leave Abyss bhai, knowing dire consequences. The resentment simmered.

The episode in early 2020

Abyss bhai was watching some soap on one of the Indian TV channels with one of his wives,
when there was a commercial break and Amitabh Bachchan appeared on the screen, urging
people “Kuchh din to gujariye Gujarat mein”. Abyss bhai was a solid Amitabh fan, and had
to just say yes. He thought for a moment and called Rash Master, head of Terrorism Cell, based
at Moradabad in UP. When Rash Master picked up the phone, Abyss bhai ordered:

“Rash, aap do, chaar ton RDX leke Surat chale jao aur ek, do factory uda do. Udar ka
government hil jaana mangta hai”.

“Ji hazoor, Abyss bhai. Ek mahine mein ho jayega”

Rash Master was excited. It was a prestigious opportunity. Earlier he had master minded and
executed some riots and after restructuring, he was made head of Terror Cell. He got down
working quickly. A lot had to be done in 20 days, leaving 10 clear days for executing the plan
properly. Using different phones and SIM cards, he contacted different competency centre
heads and BU heads for support – Arms, ammunition, explosives, logistics, Forgers, Finance,
HR, and back-office support from IT and Intelligence etc. It was quite an unpleasant task. Many
of these heads were jealous of his closeness to Abyss bhai and he had to virtually beg some of
them. Ada Bhai, responsible for Finance always suspected him of embezzlement and was
reluctant to release enough funds. In earlier arrangement, he managed his own funding through
his own methods and did not have to ask anyone. In the process, made some good side income
for himself. Anyway, Targets finalized. Reiki done, local contacts recruited, indoctrinated, and
instructed.

1
The case is written by Mr P K Nilosey. It was written as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate
effective and ineffective handling of a situation. All the names in this case are fictitious.
On that fateful night, the gang, personally led by Rash Master, hijacked a fishing trawler off
Bhavnagar coast and sailed towards Surat. The plan was to spend the day in the high seas off
Ubhrat near Surat and unload the cargo there after 10 PM and then the local contacts could take
it to safe places in Surat. The operatives were to move to Hazira by different modes separately
and rendezvous at a certain point along the river Tapi and go to the target. The gang comprised
two explosive experts, trained in use of RDX, two persons familiar with Surat and Hazira belt,
one sharpshooter and two boat crews and Rash Master himself. They had two AK47s and others
carried pistols, adequate ration, and Indian currency.

It was an absolutely coincidence that Indian Coast Guard team was carrying out sea trials of
one of the interceptor boats, (IBs) built at L&T’s Hazira Shipyard during the day, when Rash
Master had just dropped anchor and asked his gang to take some rest, as the next 48 hours were
to be full of action. The IB was zooming around- slowing and accelerating, and Rash Master’s
team watched the maneuvers with awe. Some of the crew members suggested moving away
and coming back later, but Rash Master hesitated and decided to wait and watch. He saw only
one or two uniformed persons and rest civilians and considered them harmless and decided to
stay put. And then suddenly, the IB sped past the trawler and the CG officials felt some
abnormal behavior and movements. There was no fish and nets were looking unused and dry.

The interceptor boat was on trial and as Rash Master had expected, was unarmed, but the officer
immediately signalled his HQ to test the communication system. Soon, the place was swarming
with CG vessels of all kinds. Rash’s boat was challenged and firing ensued. At the end, the
trawler with its RDX captured, two gangsters killed, three, including Rash Master arrested and
three managed to swim away and reported the details to Abyss bhai. The arrested gangsters
were tortured, and they revealed the name of Abyss bhai as the mastermind. Not that Abyss
bhai was worried about his name being mentioned and a diplomatic tussle between the
countries ensued. It was the failure of the mission and the hit, his reputation in the underworld
had to take.

The three men, were standing, shaken to death, in front of Abyss bhai, when Edubhai walked
in. For the first time, Abyss bhai doubted Edubhai’s approach and felt that his own old method
was better. He gave him a piece of his mind, and asked him, why the mission failed and what
to do now. Edubhai asked him to hold on, not to punish the three who returned, and then went
on to explain.

Abyss bhai had a soft corner for Edubhai and listened to him. And decided to listen to what
Edubhai had to say. Put yourselves in Edubhai’s role and answer these questions:
(Feel free to make assumptions, as every detail is not presented in the narration above)

1. Why did the mission fail? Do you see a managerial / leadership failure?

2. Is collaboration a problem in Abyss International? What can be done to improve?

3. What could have been done to avoid this failure?

4. Fix responsibilities.

5. Suggest improvements / steps for the organization.