The two women arrested for allegedly transporting firearms from Amritsar to Mumbai before the shooting at actor Tiger Shroff’s car on October 18 have brought into focus a little seen part of the city’s underworld: the role of women in keeping criminal networks running. While police investigate what Radha and Babita knew about the plan, their alleged role recalls a longer history of women linked to Mumbai’s gangs, from figures such as Jenabai Daruwali, who built a reputation as an underworld intermediary, to wives and relatives accused of managing parts of gang operations, and women allegedly tasked with moving weapons, money and information.Women who reached the top rungJenabai Daruwali was a prominent figure in accounts of Mumbai’s older underworld. She reportedly began by brokering deals in the black market grain trade after Partition before moving into bootlegging. Her links with gangsters such as Haji Mastan, Karim Lala and Varadarajan Mudaliar helped establish her reputation as an intermediary able to negotiate between rival groups.Mahalaxmi Pappamani, known as Amma, also reportedly moved from assisting a criminal operation to running one. Published accounts say she initially helped her husband in the drug trade before taking over its operations in Sion Koliwada, with the backing of Varadarajan Mudaliar.Haseena Parkar, the sister of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, was later associated with allegations of property dealings and extortion. She was named in investigations involving property transactions, including the Goawala Compound in Kurla. The allegations against her should not be treated as proof of criminal guilt.Their stories, drawn from different periods and circumstances, suggest that women’s place in the underworld was not always confined to the margins. Some were reported to have built influence through their own networks and relationships with rival gang leaders.Wives, sisters and relatives: Drawn into gang networksFor others, the route into the underworld ran through family. A husband’s imprisonment or absence could leave a woman handling parts of his operation; a relationship with a gangster could bring access to the network, but also expose her to its dangers.Ashraf Khan, better known as Sapna Didi, became part of underworld lore after the killing of her husband, Mehmood Khan alias Mehmood Kalia, an associate of Dawood Ibrahim. Accounts of her life say she blamed Dawood for his death and turned to gangster and police informer Hussain Ustara, who reportedly trained her in firearms and self defence. She allegedly plotted to assassinate Dawood during an India Pakistan cricket match in Sharjah. The plan was reportedly exposed, and Ashraf was stabbed to death at her Nagpada home in 1994. Much of her story comes from crime narratives and book based accounts, and some details remain difficult to verify independently.Story continues below this adNeeta Naik, a Shiv Sena corporator and wife of gangster Ashwin Naik, was reported to have managed aspects of her husband’s extortion network while he was abroad or in prison. She was shot dead in 2000.In his 2017 chapter, “Underworld and the Police in Mumbai”, published in *Social Dynamics of the Urban*, Abdul Shaban of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences examines the role of women associated with gangsters. He describes them as “behens” (sisters), alongside the “bhais” (brothers) of the underworld, noting that many were girlfriends, sisters or wives of prominent gangsters.Shaban names women alleged to have worked within these networks, including Archana Sharma, associated with Babloo Srivastava; Monica Bedi, associated with Abu Salem; Laxmi Soni alias Lakka, linked to Guru Satam; Priya Rajput, associated with Chhota Rajan aide Bunty Pandey; and Shamim Paul, linked to Chhota Shakeel.The allegations varied. Some women were accused of facilitating extortion or collecting money; others were described as providing information or using personal connections to assist gang members. The chapter records these allegations but does not establish the final legal outcome in every case.Story continues below this adRubina Siraj Sayyed, known as Heroine and associated with Chhota Shakeel, was described as handling money, liaising with lawyers and assisting incarcerated gang members.Praveen Sultana was accused of circulating counterfeit currency allegedly procured from Dubai for the D Company network and transporting packets of fake notes to gang members.In some cases, women’s alleged role was more specific: moving or concealing firearms. Their importance to a criminal operation lay in the link they could provide between the people supplying weapons and those expected to use them.In 2009, Nikhat Ansari was arrested on allegations that she worked as a weapon carrier for the Chhota Shakeel gang, according to the Mumbai Police Crime Branch.Story continues below this adZaibunnisa Anwar Kazi’s case concerned the concealment of weapons. The Supreme Court’s 2013 judgment in the 1993 Mumbai blasts cases records the recovery of weapons, ammunition and hand grenades from her residence. She was convicted in connection with their storage.The two most recent women named are Radha and Babita, who now find themselves embroiled in the Tiger Shroff shooting case, yet another addition to the history of women in Mumbai’s underworld.