Following the escape, a case was registered in Wilson Garden police station. Soon, two Wilson Garden businessmen lodged complaints that Tanveer had extorted money from them on May 11 the day of his escape. Two more cases of extortion followed.

Tanveer (31), began his underworld activities in 1984, as a petty thief in Shivajinagar. Later, he expanded his operation to Devarajeevanahalli, Ashoknagar and Cubbonpark. Tanveer's name figured prominently in a case of `attempt-to-murder' at Basavanagudi during 1989. After that, Tanveer never looked back. During this period, Tanveer's friendship withShivajinagar's other underworld don, the late Koli Fayaz, became well-known. From being a petty thief, he graduated to being an extortionist and his area of operation spread

He was also involved in a case at Ramanagaram in Bangalore rural district. Tanveer's activities were not, however, conspicuous till his master Koli Fayaz was murdered in 1995. Tanveer, who then took on the don's mantle, had a meteoric rise. He avenged Fayaz's murder by killing Farooq, one of those accused in Koli's killing. Police suspected Tanveer's role in the murder of Bombay Hameed, another accused in Koli Fayaz's murder. Hameed was murdered in early 1997 and Tanveer was in jail during the time, and the police could not link him in the case. Being in jail did not deter Tanveer in any way. He carried out extortion through his associates, who used to visit him frequently whenever he was brought to the courts for a case. He had a good rapport with the City Armed Reserve police and Karnataka State Reserve Police, who accompanied him tojail. He used this to escape from jail on May 11. Earlier in 1997, the City police arrested seven associates of Tanveer who used to meet him on his way to court. Another gang was arrested from a hotel near Hosur. But this did not deter him. Tanveer has even been humiliated in police stations. In 1990, a police inspector allegedly made Tanveer wash the toilets in a police station.

Since Tanveer's ancestors hailed from Kashmir, Tanveer was believed to be an executive member of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front. Whenever communal tensions flared up in the City, his name figured promptly. However, the police could not prove these claims. Of late, Tanveer had developed the fear that he would be eliminated in a fake police encounter. He petitioned the Home Minister saying he had undergone a change of heart and begged for amnesty. He also approached the NHRC and alleged that the City police were planning to eliminate him in a fake encounter. He alleged, further, that his son was born blind because the policehad harassed his wife during her pregnancy. The Human Rights Commission had ordered a medical check-up of the child.