City going Mumbai way?

City going Mumbai way? Cable wars triggered gang wars in Bangalore
VIjay Times

Bangalore: City s crime scene is changing fast. Organised crime, intensified gang wars and related murders is worrying the police and security experts that the City is going the Mumbai way .

With at least six gangwar-related murders in the last two months, police are bracing themselves up for an intensified gangwar in the City , much like Mumbai witnessed from the early 1980s till mid-1990s.

The retaliatory nature of these wars, police officials say , threatens to reinvigorate the crime scene here. Experts say this is the right time to nip the menace in the bud.

The murder of Palani. 40, a rowdysheeter , while undergoing treatment at HOSMA T hospital is the latest in a chain of events that began some years back.

Most gang-wars began due to turf control of cable operations.

According to police, the gang wars started following the murder of Rahim Ali, a rowdy-sheeter and a cable operator in Fraser T own police station limits a few years ago, and still continue in Viveknagar , Girinagar and Banashankari.

Rahim Ali was murdered by a gang on contract given allegedly by D D Ravi and his brother Umashankar over cable operations.

Rahim s murder triggered retaliatory attacks that claimed at least four lives.

In retaliation to his murder , a gang of eight members led by Srinivasa, who was released from jail after serving time in the sensational Rs 1 crore robbery in 1998, murdered Umashankar and his associate Babu.

While Umashankar was burnt alive, Bandu was hacked to death in Viveknagar in July last.

Within four days, police arrested five persons and during investigations, it was found the accused were given supari (contract) reportedly by Mubarak Ali, Rahim s brother and Palani.

The latter got involved on being threatened by U mashankar and D D Ravi when he started his own cable operations in Viveknagar .

Although the East Division police have arrested four youths in connection with the murder of Palani, the police revealed the mastermind behind the murder of Palani was D D Ravi, presently in jail to avenge the death of his brother Umashankar .

B B Ashok Kumar , ACP , stressed the need for an anti-rowdy squad. He said such a squad was dismantled by then police chief S C Burman.

However , a senior police official says it is not possible for police to keep a daily watch on the activities of these once friends-turned-rivals, now also involved in real-estate apart from cable operations.

It is feared Palani’s murder may lead to another round of killings.and retaliatory attacks in these areas in the days to come.