In Bangalore, Tondulkar ‘scores’ 150 at brisk pace

He goes by the name Tondulkar. Even as a famous man whose surname is almost similar to the boy create history with the willow and earned the sobriquet master blaster, Tondulkar’s deeds earned him an alias in the city.

In Bangalore, 17-year-old Tondulkar is known as Chandala. He got the alias Tondulkar by his strike rate, and set a record of sorts in the world of crime in just two years. Police said he was an expert in using knives on humans.

As many as 100 cases—including five attempts to murder –—have been registered against him. Police were suspecting that he had committed 50 more offences, which were not reported. He shared his real name with a Hindi film actor of yesteryear.

Tondulkar, a resident of Giripura in Cottonpet, dropped out of school when he was 15 to join his family’s criminal activities. His father, Cheetha, is a notorious rowdy; so is his jailed brother Appu.

Though he had dropped out from school, Tondulkar pursued ‘education’ of a different kind under the tutelage of chain snatcher Bhaskar, robber Pulsar Manja and several other notorious characters, and gained expertise in dacoity, robbery and chain snatching. He operated in crowded localities such as Majestic, Upparpet, Cottonpet and Magadi Road.

Police caught Tondulkar 15 days ago when he tried to snatch a chain from a woman. A blade, used to knife the woman, was seized from his possession. When arrested, he was part of a criminal gang headed by Gupta, who has been facing charges of several murders.

For each successful crime, the gang gave Tondulkar Rs2,000 to Rs3,000.

Investigators said the teenager used to borrow mobile phones from unsuspecting public by narrating sob stories. Once he got the phone, he fled with the gadget, after threatening its owner with the knife.

When this reporter saw the knife on Sunday, it still had blood stains, apparently from his last victim.

Tondulkar is now in the home for juvenile delinquents. Police expressed fear that his gang would gain his freedom, and help him wield his knife again to set new records.