Bahirji Naik Bahirji Naik was an Indian spy , military commander and an efficient soldier , and notable Ramoshi - Berad in the army of Shivaji Maharaj in the time of the Mughal Empire . His valor and bravery induced the man to perform espionage in enemy camps when the time and conditions were unfriendly and treacherous . Chatrapati Shivaji and his sons Sambhaji , Rajaram , and his daughter - in - law used forefathers of Ramoshi - Berad community to carry out espionage for raids on Surat , Burhanpur , Jalna , Ujjain , Pune . Bahirji Naik who carried out espionage for Shivaji and commanded a force of 3 , 000 men from communities like Ramoshi s , Dhangar s , Bhil s , Laman s , Vanzara , Pardhi , Mahadeo Koli , and Masan Jogi s . Bahirji Naik , Shivaji ' s Chief of Intelligence , who was so perfect in his methods that history can only infer what he ( and his people ) did but not how they accomplished their supreme feats . His tomb is now situated on Banurgad / Bhupalgad in Khanapur taluka of Sangli district . Not much is known about the early life of Bahirji but the his expeditions and adventures as a spy in Shivaji ' s army tell us of him great contributions in Marathi future . Bahirji was good at gathering detailed information about every aspect of his missions and a lion ' s share of credit for many of Shivaji ' s surprising feats must go to Bahirji Naik and his people . Some of the results of their work are listed below . When a knight from Adilashah , Afjalkhan started his journey towards Maratha Empire with a promise to Adilshah to kill or capture Shivaji , his war elephant named Fatel Lashkar was killed on the first day of his march . It is sustpected that the elephant was poisoned by Bahirji and his men , in order to demoralize the advancing army . Death of the flag bearing elephant was considered as a bad omen by Afjalkhan , and the act of Bahirji was successful in it . Bahirji further helped Shivaji in mounting many covert operations and acts of sabotage in enemy territory . Shivaji and his officers specialized in capturing the enemy forts via surprise attacks followed by quick victories . This was the strategy underlying Shivaji ' s guerrilla warfare , a rare practice in those days . Having precise military information was crucial to the success of this strategy . The battles were usually over within hours rather than months needed to capture a fort via open siege . In UmbarKhind , a mountain pass near Lonavala , Shivaji ambushed and defeated the 20 , 000 strong army of Colonel KartalabKhan , a well - known military officer of ShahisteKhan , in a 2 hour battle . Shivaji captured valuable military equipment and accepted the deserters from Khan ' s army into his own . Shivaji paid a surprise visit to ShahisteKhan in Khan ' s military camp at Pune with at least 70 , 000 soldiers under cover of darkness . The objective was to kill Khan and thus demoralize his army . Khan survived this daring attack by Shivaji minus three fingers ! Shivaji then escaped to SinhGad while enticing Khan ' s army on a wild chase to a mountain pass in Katraj . Khan did not die but was thoroughly de - moralized . He had occupied Pune and terrorized the surrounding population for over 3 years . Within 3 days of Shivaji ' s visit , Khan left Pune ! Twice , Shiavji successfully attacked Surat , Aurangzeb ' s financial capital and carried away much of its wealth as repatriation of the expenses incurred and pain suffered by Shivaji ' s citizens during years of occupations by forces of Aurangzeb ' s army first under ShahisteKhan and then under MirzaRaja JaiSingh . On each occasion , Shivaji did not harm those who had engaged in significant acts of charity . Shivaji escaped from Aurangzeb ' s jail in Agra , a city that was totally foreign to Shivaji even though the jail itself was surrounded by 1 , 000 strong army under an able commander , and Shivaji had to travel 700 miles through Aurangzeb ' s kingdom . After the second expedition to Surat , Colonel IkhlasKhan was chasing Shivaji ' s army . When Khan reached KanchanBari ( near Nasik ) , he found that Shivaji was ready to face Khan in an open battle ! Khan had lost the advantage of surprise . Shivaji captured valuable military equipment after his victory in this 6 hour battle . In short , Bahirji was a key component of Shivaji ' s many surprise victories and escapes