Mumbai, Aug 29: Mohan Mudaliar, the eldest son of the late underworld don Varadarajan Mudaliar, popularly known as Vardabhai, passed away on Wednesday evening at the age of 72. He had been battling cancer for the past few months and was undergoing treatment.
The funeral procession will leave his residence at “Vasudha” building near Maheshwari Udyan, Matunga (Central Railway), on Thursday at 3 p.m.
Known as “Mohanbhai,” he was widely regarded as a soft-spoken man who never followed in his father’s footsteps in the world of crime, despite pressure from members of Varadabhai’s gang. Except for a solitary case related to fake currency registered by Gujarat Police, in which he maintained he was falsely implicated, Mohanbhai had no criminal record.
During his father’s reign in Mumbai’s underworld, Mohanbhai often remained by Varadabhai’s side when influential dons like Haji Mastan, Yusuf Patel, Karim Lala, Bada Rajan, Dawood Ibrahim, and Chhota Rajan visited their Matunga residence. However, he chose to live away from the underworld.
After Varadabhai’s death due to cardiac arrest in Chennai, Mohanbhai personally arranged to bring his father’s body to Mumbai, declaring that the city was his father’s “karmabhoomi.” He also continued the tradition of organizing Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations at Matunga railway station, a legacy started by his father.
Ironically, Mohanbhai breathed his last on the first day of Ganeshotsav 2025.
