Kochi City police keep a tab on over 900 alleged goons

KOCHI Where have all the goons of Kochi, who once hogged headlines and even inspired a set of films, gone? One might wonder in the wake of the recent arrest of alleged gangster Aneesh Antony, aka Maradu Aneesh, from a hideout near Vallarpadam, since it had been a while since a ‘local don’ made news. The gangsters and their accomplices may still be around or operating from a distance, but under the radar, going by what the police claim.

The Kochi City police keep tabs on over 900 alleged goons or repeat offenders through an intense surveillance mechanism aimed at reining in anti-social elements that once appeared to be a flourishing force capable of disrupting the city’s calm. The monitoring system is intended to ensure that usual suspects are not engaged in any criminal activity.

Once a repeat offender involved in violent acts is placed on the surveillance list, the police regularly check whether the suspect is staying at home and going to work to earn a living. The responsibility of monitoring each person on the list is assigned to a civil police officer. It is estimated that the 23 police stations within the city limits maintain lists of around 30-40 such people each.

Police personnel in charge of a suspect have to call the person occasionally to check his whereabouts. The suspects are also summoned to their respective police stations at regular intervals. If necessary, the police monitor their financial transactions and social circles. Most of those on the list are below 45, it is learnt.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Aswathy Jiji said that the monitoring of a suspect followed a three-tier system involving a police personnel, the station house officer concerned, and a higher officer. She said the preventive action had acted as a crime deterrent in recent years.

Juvvanapudi Mahesh, also a DCP, said that the police did not intrude on the privacy of a person in the name of surveillance. “Of late, there have not been many complaints of extortion or hit jobs involving so-called quotation gangs, reflecting the effectiveness of the monitoring,” he claimed.

The police keep revising the list. “Once we are convinced that a history-sheeter has not been involved in any criminal activity for at least five years, we omit that person’s name from the list. Those who are terminally ill or have a credible source of income are also excluded from the list based on proper intelligence,” an officer said.

The suspects have also found ways to evade surveillance. Some avoid using phones or keep changing their numbers. Others even move to different parts of the State, sources said.