‘Our crime detection rate has been over 90 per cent’

Does the recent spate of shootouts in the city and the Ravi Pujari gang claiming responsibility for three of the four incidents,indicate that the underworld is rearing its head again?
There has been no appreciable increase in the underworld activities. However,it is true that the Ravi Pujari gang is attempting to get active in the western suburbs where the three shooting incidents in Khar,Oshiwara and D N Nagar were reported recently. He has been making calls to all his old targets,people whom he had also earlier threatened in the late 90s. We are taking serious cognizance of the complaints and will neutralise the gang soon.

But,there are also a lot of opportunists who make extortion calls posing as gangsters and such impostors represent almost 90 per cent of the extortion cases reported. The detection rate in them is also equally high.

Why is Pujari suddenly trying to get active now and any information on his gang members?
There are two reasons for this. Either he is insecure and wants to reestablish his supremacy or is merely taking advantage of the fact that the other gangs are on the back foot presently. It has always been observed that when there is a void,some gangster will rise and try to fill that void. We believe that Pujari is trying to establish a hold over his territory when there is no one else to challenge him. However,we believe that his gang does not have more than half a dozen members,and most of them amateurs.

What is the profile of this new talent being hired for the shootouts?
Most of these youths are around 19-22 years from central India and are mercenaries who can do the dirty work for any gang who pays them well. We have come across cases where youths have taken on an assignment for a meager sum of Rs 5,000. Pujari’s gang comprises youths who are amateurish,untrained,thoroughly unprofessional. In two of the cases,they had thrown away the weapons used for the firing and fled which hints at their incompetency.

What steps have you taken to combat the Pujari gang? Are any other gangs on the revival mode?
We have formed special teams who will focus unearthing information on the gang’s existing and new members. They will track down the shooters,associates who have been in the gang in the past and are known to have become active now. More efforts would have to be devoted to track the new youths who have been hired as they may not have a previous criminal record. Other gangs have been more or less neutralized and if and when we get information on their renewed activities,we will clamp down on them as effectively as we did in the Farid Tanasha case

Any lessons learnt from or any comments on the Farid Tanasha case?
We have successfully broken the backbone of the Bharat Nepali gang after arresting 11 of their crucial members which do not just include shooters but also their financers,planners,organisers and the hawala operators. We have also recovered two sophisticated weapons and the gang has been almost neutralized.

What has been the detection rate in the Crime Branch after you took over?
Our detection rate has been over 90 per cent. Thanks to our informant network that has been growing stronger. We have been focusing on strengthening our informant network in jails and most detection the Crime Branch has done in the past few months has been a result of a lot of crucial information sourced from prisons.

After the Nooriya Haveliwala case,drug abuse in the city became a concern for the police. Are any new drives being planned by the Anti Narcotic Cell?
I am very concerned about the increasing use of heroin and cocaine among the youth. Drugs like speed,ecstasy,amphetamines are gaining rapid use among the youth. We are planning to specifically crack down on such cases.

When is the proposed witness protection programme likely to be implemented?
We have been discussing the proposed witness protection programme at the highest levels and the policy on the same is likely to be approved soon. The new programme will not just assure the witness of physical protection but will also offer choices like change of identity and location.

What is the status of the Mumbai Crime Branch’s High Court appeal against the acquittal of Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin?

The decision on the same has already been taken and we will be moving the High Court for appeal against their acquittal within the stipulated period.

The first two of the Nehru Nagar rape and murders are yet to be solved. Are there any clues or any progress in the investigation?
We are rounding up suspects and sending their samples to the forensic lab for testing; now it’s a matter of time. However,we have consulted psychologists as a part of the investigation who had given us a tentative profile of the accused. He may have a child at home,is likely to have had an abused childhood and needs psychiatrist help.