The noisy Mahim police and dargah go back a long way

procession from the police station to the shrine, stopping at two other pilgrim centres – a church and a temple – before arriving at the dargah. Nowadays, the head of the Mahim police station – the senior inspector - usually leads the devotees. There is a Mumbai Police Makhdoom Ali Baba Sandal Committee, which organises the event, and donations in the form of gifts and money for the shrine come from policemen across the city.

The association of the police with the shrine does not end with the first day’s events at the fair. Every officer who gets posted at the police station visits the shrine to pray before taking up the new job. They keep coming to the shrine, especially when they have a tough case to investigate. “They believe that praying to the saint helps them solve difficult cases,” said Khandwani.

The saint’s help is sought not just by the law enforcers; but offenders trying to escape the long hand of the law are also rumoured to land up at the shrine with their prayers.

“People pray at dargahs for solutions to all sorts of problems but people who feel that they are being unfairly investigated by the police also go to the Mahim dargah,” said Imran Malkani, a businessman who is a regular visitor at the shrine. “This is probably because policemen from Mahim police station have traditionally offered the first sandal at the urs.”

This is not the first time that the Mahim police have been accused of violating noise rules at the fair. In December 2013, Awaaz Foundation – the petitioner in the case - measured noise outside the shrine on the inaugural day and found that the noise level peaked at 112.7 db.

In 2009, the trustees at the shrine asked devotees to avoid singing, dancing or loud music at the fair. Khandwani said that the police procession started at 2.30 in the afternoon and ended at 9.30 in the evening.

“There is noise during the procession; this is understandable, but when the policemen enter the dargah lane, they walk silently. The procession ended before 10.00pm (when loudspeakers have to be switched off),” said Khandwani.