MUMBAI, JAN 20: The underworld has dubbed it the Police Department's New Year resolution. And if the ongoing bloodfest is a measure of their determination, the men in khakhi are back to wiping hoodlums off the streets with a familiar vengeance.The sharp rise in encounter deaths by the police since September last year and the recent clinical destruction of the Arun Gawli gang are definite indications that the bloodlust has returned after a lull in the preceeding months of 1998. Moreover, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) D Sivanandhan leaves little doubt when he says, ``We have intensified our crackdown on criminals and shall continue to do so.'' Though he refuses to elaborate, it is clear that the temporary `setback' to the police's encounter raj - thanks to the Judge A S Aigiar inquiry - has finally worn off.The scalping of two top-rung Gawli aides, Sharad Bandwe and Bandya Adivalekar, in January served a dual purpose: besides sending out a message to the underworld in general, police also struck atthe very foundation of the Dagdi Chawl fortress, home to Mumbai's resident don.The weakening of Gawli's clout also suits the ruling Shiv Sena, which perceived the gang's political wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Sena (ABS), as a potential threat when it was launched in early 1996. Apart from rattling the Sena, it also disturbed rival non-resident dons holed up abroad. The killing of ABS founder, Jitendra Dabholkar in 1997 by the Chhota Shakeel gang thus dealt a severe blow to Gawli's political ambitions.With Gawli's other close aides Sada Pawle, Ganesh Bhosale and Vijay Tandel already dead, again in encounters, there is little doubt who tops the hitlist now. The gang has been left with only two top-rung leaders, Dilip Kulkarni alias DK and Nagesh Mohite.Police began the New Year with a resounding bang, notching up seven encounters and killing nine gangsters during the last fortnight alone. In fact, in a little over two months, 47 gangsters died in encounters. After being mute witnesses to an underworldshooting spree (101 gangsters killed in 93 shootouts) till October 1998, police were galvanised into action after `Black Diwali', when 38 hoodlums were killed in 28 encounters between September and December 1998.Climaxing the persecution of businessmen and traders by the underworld, the five Anti-Extortion Cells, the Crime Branch and even local police stations collectively took up arms with renewed vigour. In fact, the situation had come to such a pass that Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde, under duress from the business community, endorsed the `bullet for bullet theory' to stem the bloodletting.The milestone of the year was the Dadar encounter on November 11, when four gangsters were shot dead, viz Raja Gore, Bipin Khandpal, Ramesh Poojare and Jayaram Shetty. Only the ringleader, D K Rao, survived.The message had gone out and it seemed to work. Gangland killings registered a sharp decline thereafter, with only six incidents being reported till the year-end.However, the police force appears tohave become trigger-happy, with allegations of fake encounters surfacing once more. For instance, Pushpa Waghmare, wife of Suresh Waghmare, has alleged that her husband was killed in precisely this manner. She claims Waghmare had no police record; on the contrary he had a licensed firearm issued by the police commissioner in 1994, she claims.If the reckless trend continues, it will not be long before they have the blood of another Javed Fawda on their hands.
