With a high-profile murder, shadow of 1990s looms over Mumbai

Calling the informing shots fired extracurricular Salman’s location arsenic “stage one”, an IPS serviceman told The Indian Express, “With Siddique’s murder, signifier 2 — that of fearfulness mongering — has been activated. Bloodshed ensures that erstwhile others person an extortion call, they are frightened capable to portion with their wealth easily.”

Calling the precocious 1990s a “dark period” for Mumbai, a erstwhile IPS said 101 businessmen were gunned successful 1998, erstwhile organised transgression successful the metropolis was astatine its peak. These killings, helium says, dipped to 46 successful 1999, 23 successful 2000 and 12 successful 2001, till a multi-pronged attack by the constabulary helped guarantee determination was nary gang-related execution from 2002 onwards. However, the Dawood pack continued to marque extortion calls passim this time.

Former Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanandan, credited with taking connected the Mumbai underworld successful the 1990s, told The Indian Express, “What is happening present cannot beryllium compared to the 1990s. Back then, the underworld, which had been gathering up implicit the past respective decades, had deed a crescendo. What is happening present could beryllium the opening of thing similar. If this lawsuit (Siddique’s murder) is efficaciously tackled — and the Mumbai constabulary are susceptible of doing that — this menace tin beryllium nipped successful the bud.”

Lawrence Bishnoi, successful jailhouse since the past decade, has been gaining notoriety since his pack allegedly killed Punjabi vocalist Siddhu Moosewala successful 2002 successful Punjab. On June 6, 2022, a week aft the singer’s murder, a menace missive was recovered connected a seat connected Mumbai’s Bandstand Promenade, wherever Salim Khan, publication writer and histrion Salman’s father, usually sat aft his greeting walk. The letter, which warned that Salman excessively would conscionable “Moosewala’s fate”, was signed disconnected with the initials “LB” and “GB”. The constabulary accidental these initials presumably basal for Lawrence Bishnoi and his Canada-based adjutant Goldy Brar.

The constabulary judge that the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which was mostly progressive successful Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and occidental Uttar Pradesh, is present attempting to capable the vacuum near down since the Mumbai underworld gangs, led by Dawood Ibrahim, Chhota Rajan and Ravi Pujari, among others, were neutralised implicit the past 15 years.

Amid fears of Mumbai returning to the “dark days of the past”, the constabulary accidental having a due strategy successful spot volition guarantee the Lawrence Bishnoi pack doesn’t dispersed its wings.

According to erstwhile Mumbai Police Commissioner Sivanandan, bringing successful stringent laws played a large relation successful eliminating the menace of the underworld. “Mumbai Police person ready-made laws, similar the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), brought successful during my time, which it tin usage to neutralise these elements,” helium says. Under MCOCA, detainees find it hard to get bail for respective years, frankincense keeping them retired of circulation for years.

Other stringent laws that person helped the constabulary instrumentality connected the underworld see the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act.

Former apical bull Ribeiro says, “The wide rule is that the constabulary make an adjacent magnitude of fearfulness successful the minds of the gangsters by ensuring they enactment successful a beardown manner.”

A retired serviceman says it each comes down to the government’s approach. “If the authorities is serious, the constabulary person the resources to stub retired the gang. With Mumbai Police not being fixed entree to Lawrence Bishnoi, though helium is down bars (in Gujarat), this begs the questions arsenic to however severely the authorities wants these gangs weeded out. It sends retired the incorrect connection erstwhile a idiosyncratic who is causing instrumentality and bid problems successful parts of the state is being fixed immoderate benignant of patronage. The constabulary volition request the government’s backing if they privation to guarantee the metropolis does not spot the bloodbath it saw successful the 1990s,” the serviceman adds.