MUMBAI, SEPT 29: On the first floor of the crime branch lock-up at Crawford Market is lodged a criminal `just like any other'. If the crime branch is to be believed, one of the most dreaded names in the Mumbai underworld, accused in 14 cases of murder, extortion, issuing threats, possessing illegal arms and assault, is being meted the scantest of deference and the toughest of treatment.Thus, Ashwin Naik may claim to have connections with the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliance, but he is being fed only jail bhatta (food), say crime branch officials. And ever since he was confined to the stinking cubbyhole of a lock-up over a month ago, he has met his wife, Sena corporator Neeta Naik, just once. For ten minutes.Eager to quash rumours that the don would have a comfortable stay in custody, the crime branch, which was handed Naik's custody on August 20, has been putting the squeeze on him. ``Everytime Naik sought some facility like visits from relatives or home food, we moved court andgot his request rejected,'' asserted Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), detection, Sunil Paraskar. Naik's most recent request made this week - for access to a newspaper - is still under consideration.Earlier, during their stints at Arthur Road and Thane jails, gangsters like Arun Gawli and Pappu Kalani were permitted home food and visits. But none of that for Naik. ``We turned down a request by Naik's advocate to permit him to have home food. Naik has a strong threat perception, and if anything happens to him just because we permit outside food, it is we who will be responsible,'' stated Paraskar.Another plea to the police by Naik, who is paralysed waistdown and cannot move without assistance, to arrest a caretaker to care for him has also been shot down. There is no such provision within the criminal procedure code, say officers.The only respite for Naik is that each time his remand is extended or his custody transferred to a police station for investigations, Additional Metropolitan MagistrateUsha Iyer holds court within the crime branch itself. Thus, Naik is spared the ordeal of travelling out of the lock-up.The crime branch is also investigating those who were in contact with Naik when he was on the run. ``We have heard that his wife too met him several times in foreign countries and on forged passports. If our investigations find her guilty, we will not hesitate to arrest her,'' disclosed a senior crime branch officer.Not surprisingly then, the Mumbai police are already scripting Naik's swansong. Police have either gunned down or arrested over 17 top-rung shooters of the gang, and the sole survivor, Lalit Kumar Vishwakarma alias Lali, is reportedly holed up in Singapore or Kathmandu.``It is the end for the Naik gang,'' bragged a senior police officer. A sentiment reportedly echoed by Naik himself. ``I have never met any of my lieutenants but have only spoken to them over the phone. None of them knew that I am crippled and helpless. But now, it is not possible to instill fear in thehearts of businessmen or command the loyalty of my men anymore. In a way, my game is up,'' Naik is supposed to have told Paraskar.
