Anti-social elements turning these areas into battlefields

By K.V.Subramanya

BANGALORE, MAY 2. The murder of the notorious gangster, Thammaiah, on Sunday evening has showed how Vijayanagar and the surrounding areas in the City have turned out into a battle field for anti-social elements.

In the last couple of years, the gang wars that claimed lives in the City have been reported mainly from Vijayanagar and the adjoining police station limits of Kamakshiplaya, Chandra Layout, K.P.Agrahara, Magadi Road and Basaveshwaranagar.

If the gangsters in these areas are more active than their counterparts in other parts of the City, the ``credit'' should go to the local politicians, police, land developers and liquor barons, who are ``hand-in-glove'' with them.

Thammaiah was the fifth anti-social element to be hacked to death in the areas surrounding Vijayanagar of late. In 1998, another gangster, ``Layout'' Manja, was killed by the supporters of Jederahalli Krishnappa, a key player in the City's underworld, in Basaveshwaranagar Police Station limits.

Krishnappa, who was in Mysore Jail then, had allegedly master- minded Manja's murder. Prior to that, Krishnappa's gang reportedly kidnapped him from Kamakshiplaya Police Station limits and attacked him with swords. They left a severely-injured Manja near Nelamanagala.

Govindaraj, an accused in the Manja murder case, who is currently in jail, is now suspected to have prepared the ``sketch'' for Thammaiah's murder. He along with Krishnappa are now in police custody.

Incidentally, Thammaiah was an accused in the murder of Govindaraj's associate, Arun, who was stabbed to death in Chandra Layout Police Station limits in May 22 last year.

Apart from these ``inter-connected killings'', another anti- social element, Lakshman, and his associate, Dinesh, were done to death by the supporters of the gangster, Vinod, in K.P.Agrahara Police Station limits on July 2, 2000. The murder took place soon after Lakshman and Vinod were released from jail.

In addition to these gang wars, political killings have also been reported from these areas. The most sensational of them, the murder of a BJP worker in Kamakshiplaya Police Station limits in 1998, is being investigated by the City Crime Branch (CCB).

The Vrushabavathinagar councillor, Gopalaiah, was the main accused in the murder case. Gopalaiah, who had been absconding for over a month after the murder, was later arrested.

Criminal cases have also been registered against his brother, who allegedly heads a gang which mainly operates in Sunkadakatte area.

Incidentally, Gopalaiah and Thammaiah were said to be the close supporters of a former minister.

While various factors have been causing the gang wars in these areas of late, these localities have been the nucleus of criminal activities in the City, even from the early Sixties. ``The tradition still continues,'' says the Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), Mr. B.N.Nagaraj.

According to police sources and residents of these areas, land developers and real estate agents have been utilising the services of these gangsters for ``land grabbing and evictions''.

Even a leading liquor baron had been allegedly using the services of some of these gangsters to ``hijack'' trucks carrying non- excise duty paid liquor (commonly known as seconds) belonging to other distillers and also to threaten excise officials, sources told The Hindu.

``The gangsters get huge money in these deals which also result in rivalries and murders,'' a senior officer pointed out. Thammaiah was coming from the house of a leading land developer in Vijayanagar, when he was murdered.

The local police have also been allegedly helping these criminals in carrying out their activities. Some of the policemen and their children are suspected to have played a role in the murder of Thammaiah. The political interference in the functioning of the police is said to have contributed to the increase in criminal activities in Vijayanagar and adjoining areas.

``There have been instances when some local politicians have pressured police not to take action against the anti-social elements,'' sources say.

When the Joint Commissioner of Police, Dr. Ajai Kumar Singh, who is in charge of the ``anti-rowdy'' operations was asked about the measures needed to check this trend, he suggested that the top brass of the City Police closely monitor the functioning of the policemen at the station level and also interact more with people to know the ground situation.

He also suggested that postings and transfers be done only by the officials in accordance with the rules.

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