A diverse crime profile

Once home to some of the most dreaded gangsters in Pune,Yerawada today grapples with crimes “reflecting its demography”. Pick any section of the IPC and you’ll find a case registered under it at some Yerwada police station,says a senior police officer.

With people from across economic classes settled in the area,Yerawada is often said to have the most diverse crime profile in the city. Through the late 1980s and the early 1990s,the area was known to house gangsters like Meghnath Shetty alias Budhlya,Ravi Pardeshi and Rafiq Shaikh. “Shaikh was murdered in a gangwar while Shetty was killed in an encounter in 1995. Ravi Pardeshi was arrested. As of now,there are no big active gangs but small groups are in action,” said a senior Crime Branch inspector. “All these criminals drew muscle power from slums in Yerawada. They took youth from poor families and gangwars went on. The area now has criminals involved in forgery,cheating and cyber crimes.”

“We have slumdwellers,software professionals and techies from middle class and the very rich. The demographic structure reflects in the crime profile,” Vishwananth Ghanwat,Inspector (crime),Yerawada police says. “Crime in slums range from petty fights to murders. These are most of the times out of personal rivalry.” Another Crime Branch officer said,“Some communities belong to specific castes involved in illicit liquor trade and robberies. In the recent times,a large number of offences under the IT Act have been seen but it would be unfair to say such crimes are on the rise. The rapidly-growing population is the reason behind it. We have been able to curb crime,” Ghanwat said.