The Crime Branch has adopted a new strategy to bring down leading gangsters terrorising the city.
The Crime Branch has adopted a new strategy to bring down leading gangsters terrorising the city. It has started targeting close family members and friends of underworld dons “to hit them where it hurts the most”.
Kin of notorious dons Dawood Ibrahim, Chhota Rajan, Chhota Shakeel, Arun Gawli, Guru Satam and Ravi Pujari are either in jail or running from the police. A senior official says that the strategy has helped the police control crime in the city. “We are not purposely targeting them,” says DCP Dhananjay Kamlakar. “We are acting on concrete evidence.”
Most inspectors, who have been chasing the gangsters, believe that since most are abroad, they have kept lower-rung associates in India to maintain the syndicate.
However, the police say they have been successful in “finishing off” these aides. They have also been able to disable many communication networks employed by the gangsters.
“Many gangsters have changed strategy and started running businesses through close relatives or aides such as drivers, cooks and accountants,” says a senior Crime Branch inspector.
The police have countered by going after these “new” recruits. Recently, they arrested Guru Satam’s son, Bhushan, under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for allegedly making extortion threats to builders and bar owners.
The Economic Offences Wing filed a case against gangster Arun Gawli’s wife, Asha, and brother Vijay, for allegedly siphoning off funds. They received anticipatory bail for Rs 50,000.
The police crackdown have also forced the gangsters to recruit young men into the gang as most of their trusted lieutenants have either been killed in encounters or have been put
behind bars.
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