08 October,2009 09:20 AM IST | | J Dey
How does the underworld recruit their men? J Dey finds out Placement agency: Arthur Road jail (in the picture) and Thane jail are hotspots for new recruits.
The underworld is an industry with an abnormally high employee turnover. Gangs, as a result, are constantly on the lookout for new recruits.
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Their favourite hunting ground, as per all reports, are jails.
"About 90 per cent of new recruits, a majority of who are chindis or small-time robbers, come from Arthur Road and Thane jails," said an underworld source.
Many robbers take up contract killing for gangs as an alternate profession, because when a robber is arrested, it is almost certain that his whole gang is busted.
This leaves them with no one who can arrange for bail or provide them with food in jail. This is where the dons come in.
Petty jobs
The recruits also expect to be provided with jobs in the gang after release. They are started out with petty jobs to prove their loyalty and efficiency.
Petty criminals with no mob background are also picked up from jails. Once in prison, they are faced with scarcity of food and space, and the fear of being raped.
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The easy way out is to join one of the active gangs.
Commissioner of Police D Sivanandhan confirmed, "Yes, many gangsters have been recruited from jails. Efforts are on to stop the process."
Added a Crime Branch officer, "Inmates use the jail to debate the mistakes that led to their arrests. By the time they are back on the streets, they know every trick in the book to keep cops off their backs."
Other recruits
Gangs also recruit informers with criminal backgrounds. "They are appointed with an eye on liaising with the police after a killing.
The ploy is to mislead investigators, giving the shooters sufficient time to escape," said the source.
While majority of the recruits have a poor economic background and emerge out of slums, there are some who are from well-to-do families and educated.
They either join a gang to make a quick buck like Ashwin Naik or for revenge like Naik's lieutenant Kumar Pillai, who joined Naik's gang to avenge his brother's death.
A large number of new recruits are migrants to the city from UP, Bihar and MP.
Freelancers
The gangs are also increasingly appointing freelancers (see box). "Hiring killers on a contract basis works very well for us, as there are no liabilities.
Once a contract killer is paid, there is no connection with the gang and it makes it difficult for the police to reach the big bosses," said a source.
New members to gangs are mostly groomed in jails. It begins with offering help. Even little physical comforts like coupons for the prison canteen creates an obligation, leading to involvement in the gang.
It is important to note that people without a criminal background who are recruited to gangs are often those with no local roots.
Recruitment also happens at the local level. For instance, if a fight over cricket or carom turns violent and results in an arrest, the neighbourhood representative of a gang usually comes into the picture to help.
In most cases it is the lack of family, legal and social support that results in people joining a gang.
Vijay Raghavan
Associate professor, Centre of Criminology and Justice, TISS
The exception
Ashwin Naik's gang is the only one that doesn't actively hunt for fresh recruits in jails. They are very selective and usually cultivate new employees from within their friend circle.
The Best Recruiters
For Chhota Rajan
D K Rao (above) is considered a recruitment specialist. Rajan's right-hand-man Vicky Malhotra also has a large following in Thane jail and many want to join him.
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Before his death, O P Singh used to be one of the best recruiters.
For Chhota Shakeel
A gang member called Bhaijaan, who is in a jail in Ahmedabad, is the best recruiter for the D company.
For Arun Gawli
Sada Pawle was the gang's master recruiter. His death in 1996 left a void that has still not been filled.
The Trendsetter: Chhota Rajan aide Jaggu Shetty was the man who began large-scale recruitments from jail in which year 1995. He recruited several men who went on to become top men in the gang.
Hire-N-Fire
Hiring: Different gangs have different hiring policies
> For members of the Gawli gang it is almost always permanent employment, with monthly salaries and even pensions for families of slain members.
> Chhota Rajan earlier had regular shooters, but has now started outsourcing contract killings to men from north India.
> Dawood Ibrahim has very few people on the payroll. Most of his assassins are freelancers, who are paid as per the contract.
> All the other gangs usually employ freelancers.
Firing: A new recruit is an asset for the gang till the law catches up with him.
If the law gets too close or they outlive their utility, gangs have been known to turn them over to the police. If a gang member defects to another gang, he is liable to be killed.
Climbing the underworld ladder
At the top: Gangsters who reach this level often defect to other gangs (Eg Simon, who went from D Company to Chhota Rajan) or start their own gang like Chhota Rajan and Abu Salem.
Level 3: Once they have proven their loyalty and efficiency, the gang places them in departments that they specialise in and even send them on overseas postings.
Level 2: Promising workers are given jobs like supplying arms and passing information. They are paid around Rs 10,000 to 15,000. Even their payments are erratic
Level 1: New recruits are given an advance of Rs 5,000 as a show of faith. They are then assigned tasks like watching targets, collecting information and other petty logistical jobs. They are paid nominal amounts u00e2u0080u0093 about Rs 5ku00a0once in a while. illustrations/Sameer pawar
Killer ways
The gangs have mastered the art of misinformation. Killings are now attributed to rivals as in the case of Chhota Shakeel's man Chhote Main's murder on June 13.
The police were led to believe it was the handiwork of Chhote Rajan, whereas it was masterminded by Shakeel.
Local gangsters use a knife or patra to murder a rival. By doing so they circumvent the stringent Arms Act.
When it comes to guns, gangs use .32, 9mm, country-made revolvers and six-chamber revolvers.
In case of big operations, they might bring out AK-47s and Uzis.
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Famous recruits from jails
> Rajan's fortunes changed after he employed a large number of chindis in 1995, two years after he broke away from his mentor Dawood Ibrahim.
The demand grew after ace robber Jaggu Shetty alias Fakira, when he was imprisoned in Thane jail, recruited Rohit Verma, whose bail was arranged by Rajan, and D K Rao.
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Rajan soon found deadly robbers like Vinod Matkar, Nitesh Kasare, Santosh Shetty, Prashant Kalli and Nitin Sawant, who became frontline shooters of the gang.
Kasare had been sentenced to life imprisonment. Rajan managed to get him out and an indebted Kasare went on to become his deadliest shooter.
As chindis, Matkar and Verma were involved in 20 killings after they were set free.
Verma rose up the gangland ladder to become of Rajan's most trusted lieutenant before he was killed in 2000.
> Ashwin Naik's gang recruited robbers like Dhananjay Shetty, Sunil Shetty and Dilkush Shetty.
> Chhota Shakeel inducted robber Abdul Gani alias Govinda. He also recruited Arif Mirza, the new face of D company, after his stint in jail.
