The Karnataka and the Andhra Pradesh police with the help of the intelligence bureau made a very important arrest two days back in Bangalore. Altaf, alleged to be an accomplice of Chota Shakeel of the D Gang was picked up at Cottonpet in Bangalore two days back. Although he has been accused of trying to strike a deal with the naxals in India, the police see a bigger modus operandi and says that his ultimate goal was stamp the presence of the D Gang in Mangalore.
The last one and half years where Mangalore has been concerned is very interesting. Termed as a Mini Bombay of India, this costal region in Karnataka has always been a battle ground between the D gang and the local dons.
Police sources in Mangalore say that the fight has become Islamic Dons vs the Hindu dons. At least that is the way in which the underworld is being portrayed at the moment in this area today. Ravi Poojary who has fast set up base has openly proclaimed that he is a don for the Hindus and is a patriot. He has managed to make a lot of ground in the Mangalore area after he adopted such a slogan, the police point out.
However for the members of the D Gang it is a fight to finish off the Poojary dominance in this belt and regain lost ground. Around 16 years back this gang enjoyed the support of some of the local underworld operatives.
However off late the Mangalore belt has witnessed a lot of communal polarization and this has changed the manner in which the underworld too works.
Let us take a look at the efforts that are being made by the D Gang to set up base in Mangalore.
After a lull for a very long time, the D Gang sent in Rasheed Malabari. Apart from being given the brief to eliminate Varun Gandhi, he was told to get back the lost ground in Mangalore. However as he was in the midst of such a process, he was arrested by the police and continues to remain in custody.
Immediately after this set back for the D Gang, they faced yet another hurdle when one of the lawyers who argues cases for Malabari was shot dead. The lawyer was Naushad Kashimji who was representing Malabari and this operation, the police believe was the handiwork of rival gangs.
The D Gang was however quick to react and appointed a person by the name Yusuf Madoor (32) who originally is a resident of the neighbouring Kasargod area. The police say that Madoor was making inroads and was carrying out operations for a period of at least 6 months. He operated most of the time out of Kasargod where he enjoyed a lot of clout. The police claim that the rival dons are unable to operate with ease in Kasargod since they don’t have the local support and hence several attempts to eliminate him failed.
However the police was building a case against Madoor and kept a watch on him. Madoor who realised that the police had upped the ante against him managed to slip out of India and set up shop in Riyadh. Madoor during his stay in India prior to fleeing had set up a hawala network and was also involved in various extortion activities according to the plan of the D Gang. He had begun to establish supremacy, but the heat from the police got too much for him to bear thus forcing him to flee. The police who had built an excellent case against him managed to nab him in Riyadh with the help of the Interpol and brought him down for interrogation.
Following the arrest of Madoor, the D Gang sent in Altaf to start off from where Madoor had left. However this time around there was an ISI rider to this operation and he was specifically instructed to make contact with the naxals. His interrogation has revealed that he was to hand over money to a naxal sympathizer and then proceed to Mangalore where he would set up shop.
The Mangalore police however are heaving a sigh of relief with the arrest of Altaf and when contacted they said that this is yet another attempt of the D Gang to set up base which has been foiled.
The police however say that this war between the underworld which commenced after the 1993 riots is expected to continue. These dons are termed as traitor dons and patriotic dons by one another and the battle for supremacy will continue and we have a huge job on hand.
While for the so called patriotic dons, Mangalore is a good base due to the local support they enjoy, the D Gang is more into the logistics and the link this coastal town has to Dubai. They find the town shaping up on the lines of Mumbai with real estate prices shooting up thus giving them extorition opportunities. In the past one year at least 23 cases of extortion have been booked against various persons thus giving the indication that the threat of the underworld is growing each day. In addition to this there is the sea which makes their operations even more easier and hence both parties are not ready to let go of Mangalore, the police say.
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