The changing face of career criminal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sure, goondas are also keeping pace with time. They have shifted the crux of activities to sex racket and have become middlemen in complicated issues between businessmen or between them and  their clients. In Palakkad, goondas act as pilots for vehicles which wish to cross into Kerala, carrying spirit or other consignments, evading taxes. Last year saw a number of killings of goondas and reprisal attacks. On January 8 this year, a goonda, Vinu, 30, was called out from his house in Kunathurmedu by an eight-member gang and killed. Alex John, one of the five accused in the 2007 attack on leader Prabosh at Palayapetta in the town, was brutally killed in front of his house by another gang. A few months later Prabosh was killed at Chittur.A top ranking police officer said often there is an activity which helps the goondas to flourish. “No goonda becomes a threat to society by muscle power alone. He becomes a threat to society when he gets financial and political patronage. Sex racket is a chain which badly needs the help of criminals. The easy availability of flats made cities its centre and a lot of money is being transacted through that chain,” said an Assistant Commissioner of Police.Another role is that of middlemen in settling the deals. In this, goondas make use of the drawbacks in law.  “If somebody owes you `40-50 lakh and they are reluctant to give. Even if there is a written agreement to give back the money only a section approaches court because of the impediments and delay in getting a favourable justice. In a city like Kochi or in a district like Thrissur or Kozhikode or wherever huge amount of money is being transacted at a fast pace people know to whom they can approach for getting things done. In helplessness they approach a goonda who act as the go-in between them and those who owe money. No one dares to challenge them. They give a deadline and no one breaks it.” “The matter is settled without any physical injury. With the enactment of the KAPPA Goondas are cautious to avoid bodily injury,” said Venu a Circle Inspector in the police department.If the middlemen’s roles are being done by Kundannur Thampi or Maradu Aneesh in Kochi, their roles are performed by other goondas in other cities.In Malappuram, goondas are facilitators of teak wood smuggling while they are the ‘backbone’ of Hawala transactions in Kozhikode, apart from other activities. In Thrissur, gold is their prime focus. “At one point of time tonnes of gold are bring circulated in Thrissur town only,” said a top ranking police officer. Around 1,000 kilograms of gold are converted into ornaments per day in the district. Around 15 kilograms of gold were looted on the way to Nedumbassery airport and every year this kind of looting is being reported from the district. In Alappuzha and Wayanad, however, the goondas have less areas of focus and the criminal activities by them are comparatively less. But sometimes goondas are victims too.“If a goonda from one gang is killed, the police suddenly puts the blame on his rival group. That may not be true. But the slain goonda’s gang would retaliate by killing one or more persons of the rival group and this is exactly what the police want,” said a Goonda in Kochi.“All the political parties need us, especially the Congress. CPM and RSS nurture their own goondas. In Central Travancore, our existence is mainly because  of the ‘quotations’ for political parties,” said a  ganglord from Changanassery.