ANY rookie police officer will tell you that organised crime cannot thrive without political patronage and help from the police. As Mumbai reels under its most frightening scourge to date, extortion, the truth is ringing home. It's the same vicious circle—the hands of the police are tied as many gangs in the extortion racket have friends in high places.
So, any large-scale operation against extortionists would essentially mean a crackdown on middle-rung Sena members. One senior police officer admitted to Outlook that it was "largely Shiv Sena shakha pramukhs and other associated gangsters who were now emerging as a major factor in extortions in the city".
While Dawood's 'D' Company continues to squeeze the big fish for money, new entrants to the game are extorting money from traders, doctors, engineers and those employed in MNCs and foreign banks. Taking a leaf from Sena shakhas which have been soliciting funds from local traders for years.
Points out Mohan Gurnani, president of the Federation of Associations of Maharashtra, an umbrella group of trade associations: "The extortions intensified after the Sena shakhas went about collecting funds for the Ganesh festival (in August). The Sena does not extort. It accepts donations. But it seemed to have inspired a lot of people to make easy money." Gurnani is mild.
Other traders say how Sena activists actually handed out receipts to businessmen who were left with little option but pay up. According to Sena insiders, in its collection drives the party sets targets for individual shakhas. The amount is determined by the affluence of the area in which the shakha is located. The big businessmen have been the traditional source of income. It was not uncommon for the shakha pramukhs to demand a little additional money for his own use. But with growing recession, Sena activists have been collecting more than their usual quota of money.
In fact, ever since Shiv Sainiks were authorised to collect "Shiv dhan" on Shivaji Jayanti in April by Bal Thackeray, they have been raking in the moolah. The 'vargani' or 'chanda' collected for festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri took a new shape this year with shakha pramukhs deciding how much one ought to pay. So, people woke up to discover "pautis" (receipts) slipped under their doors, specifying huge sums starting at Rs 10,000 and running up to lakhs. When they refused to pay up they were given "mild warnings"—like broken windshields or stones through their windows. There were also threats to kidnap their children. The wealthy business community shelled out the cash.
Says Chaggan Bhujbal, former Sena man and now leader of the Opposition: "Once the targets are set and the go-ahead given by Thackeray, there is no stopping the pramukhs from collecting more than what is required. Who is there to stop them from collecting Rs 10 lakh when their target is Rs 1 lakh?" According to Bhujbal, many Sainiks, who have not been authorised to collect funds, are doing the rounds.
Proof of the shakhas demanding money is not wanting. Last month, a group of traders from Versova, a suburb in northwest Bombay, closed shop when local pra-mukhs tried to extort money from them.
BUT Sainiks aren't the only ones in the fray. The links of some Sena leaders with criminals is well known. A very senior minister—and chief minister aspirant if Manohar Joshi quits—is closely linked to the Malaysia-based former Dawood associate, Chhota Rajan, and had his own gang in Chembur. He is also an accused in a murder case. The minister's proximity to Rajan, has given the "Rajan company" much clout. Many of the extortions running into lakhs is pulled off with the now-dreaded calls from Malaysia.
Similarly, the Ashwin Naik group, known as the 'home company', allegedly enjoys the patronage of the top Sena leadership. The Sena had given tickets to the wives of Ashwin and Amar Naik for the Bombay municipal corporation elections in February '97. Amar's wife lost. But Neeta, Ashwin's wife, is a Sena corporator while her husband controls his city "company" from Canada.
Sena backing has meant a degree of immunity from the law for the two gangs. For quite some time, the 'D' company has been the target of the police. The war is being fought by the Dawood vs Rajan gangs and the Rajan vs Arun Gawli gangs. However, to be fair to the Mumbai police, it has also shot down sharpshooters from the Rajan company. But there is considerable pressure from a section of the Sena leadership to transfer the police officer involved in the crackdown.
While Congressmen linked to Dawood have been keeping their distance from the dreaded 'D' company ever since the 1993 blasts, the new favourite with the Congress party, according to a senior police official, is Arun Gawli. His nephew, Sachin Aher, is a Congress trade unionist controlling textile workers in Byculla, which is Gawli's headquarters. Though he says he has given up crime for social work, Gawli's men continue to extort money from traders in their home turf—Byculla. But there is pressure on the Byculla company ever since Thackeray declared Gawli a public enemy.
The extent of underworld links in the Sena was further revealed when Kishore Keswani, a Sena corporator from Ulhasnagar, was charged under the Indian Explosive Substances Act following revelations that he had stolen chemicals used to make explosives. The chemicals—monomethyle-aceto-aceta nitrate, carbon disulphide and trimethyl phosphate—were seized from Keswani who was working in collusion with another local Sena leader, Gopal Rajwani, who is a known aide of Dawood. According to the police, Rajwani is involved in smuggling out explosive grade chemicals. Rajwani has also been charged under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Persons Act.
A much harangued police is trying to put up a brave face as criticism mounts on their inability to tackle the extortion menace. At a recent meeting of police officials, the chief minister and the home minister with over 500 representatives from trade associations, the constant refrain was that people had lost their faith in the police. While the official police line is that the situation will be brought under control, not everyone is sure. Officials point out that the cold war between Joshi and deputy CM Gopinath Munde (also minister for home) has divided the force. With most top cops being Munde appointees, Joshi often threatens them with transfers.
But more than a divided police force, Joshi is finding it difficult to "end the mafia raj" since his partymen are close to the extortionists. This makes any police offensive selective, and largely ineffective. Retired police officers like Julio Ribeiro have strongly recommended that the police should be given a free hand if Mumbai is to be brought back to an even keel. For that to happen the chief minister needs a positive click from the Sena chief. Bal Thackeray, however, is yet to work his remote control on this.
