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Paying the price?
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The gunning down of Chennai's most feared gangster, Veeramani, has turned the focus on the activities of criminal gangs. K. MANIKANDAN writes...
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IN POPULAR imagination, he had ruled the Marina for nearly three decades. And when he was gunned down on the sands just yards away from his house, a few shed tears and many were relieved. Veeramani, to most people, was a `pirate' who struck terror on the shore.
The issue of a gangster being shot by the police is talked about only when an encounter takes place. The memory soon fades from the public mind but is revived only when another encounter happens. The desire to make quick money and the `unholy' nexus that anti-social elements have with those who can influence the system, have given Chennai its own underworld. In many instances, those in this category of anti-social activity enjoy political patronage for some time.
Police have continued to face the challenge of striking at the culture of violence. "All partners in the criminal justice system have to contribute equally to root out rowdies," remarked a senior police officer. "We have our limitations," he explained. The problem of unemployed youth turning into goons and `dadas' has to be viewed in this larger context, he argued.
The police officer said the 45-year old history-sheeter's alleged victims ranged from the docile vendor on the sands of the Marina to the rich and influential. Veeramani, according to the officer, forced the snack vendors to part with mamool on a daily basis while he used to collect huge sums of cash from the high and the mighty. The police while justifying the unquestioning attitude of the vendors, who had to comply with Veeramani's demands, are at a loss to decipher the attitude of the affluent, who did not even whimper in protest.
The officer felt that ruthless action on the part of the police could keep notorious elements under check. But it certainly would not wipe out the goons permanently, he said, adding that the community needed to support the efforts of the police to keep the rowdies at bay.
But a study of the rise of Veeramani from a small-time `rowdy' to an established criminal with a murder conviction will leave many questions unanswered. Police diaries state that he initially peddled drugs and went on to emerge the numero uno among anti-social elements, carrying on unlawful activities among the fisherfolk. A school dropout, he took to illegal activities when he was just 15. His occupation took him far and wide and he enjoyed a status, which many among the who's who can never imagine.
Even film makers took a cue from him when it came to projecting the villains in their movies. He also enjoyed popularity among aspiring sportsmen as he patronised boxing tournaments regularly. More than 30 cases were filed against him on various charges — murder, possession of weapons, abduction and kidnapping.
Tackling rowdyism has probably been the biggest challenge the city police have ever faced in the past decade or so. While more than a dozen gangsters operating in the city have been killed in police encounters since 1996, less than 24 members of rival gangs were murdered in North Chennai, as recorded by a senior police officer in his Ph.D thesis. In "Organised Crime - A Study of Criminal Gangs in Chennai", C.K.Gandhirajan, DIG, notes that illiteracy, poverty and unemployment were the main reasons, which drive the youths to take to criminal activities.
They become hardcore criminals by the time they are 26. Pointing out that the flesh trade also has a role to play in giving a fillip to criminal activities, he states that `police and other law enforcement agencies contributed to some extent in safeguarding the flesh trade'.
According to the officer, when criminals do not wield a knife, they rally behind politicians, caste and other groups to add to their income.
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An act of self-defence?
ACTIVISTS FEEL the police have no licence to kill, even if the target is a notorious criminal. The People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), according to its spokesperson, has been voicing its protest against all encounter deaths, per se.
"Just because they have killed a notorious gangster it does not mean that they need not face trial," an office-bearer said.
Citing an observation of the National Human Rights Commission, B. Nagasaila of the PUCL said that cases under culpable homicide should be registered against all police officials involved in encounter killings. Second, investigations against the police officials should be initiated and handed over to the CBI or other investigating agencies. Further, those police officials found guilty should be pulled up.
The PUCL is of the opinion that the motive of the policemen was to kill and not to fire in self-defence.
"They could have shot him below the knee and immobilised him," is Nagasaila's argument. She adds that the law has no provision to ensure that the witnesses are protected. She is of the view that in a democracy, the police have to be put on the same pedestal as any other citizen.
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