Who’s Next......On The Hitlist?

DESPERATE situations brook desperate measures. Living under constant threats from extortionists, which the underworld unfailingly backs up with bullets, Bombay’s business community has now decided to stop paying taxes. This, businessmen feel, is the only way they can remind the state government—however rudely—of its duty to protect the life and limb of its citizens. The tinge of paranoia is quite natural: this month alone, the city police has stood helpless as 19 killings by the underworld underscored the extortion menace.

The panic is so pronounced that this week representative bodies of the city’s business community have been putting their heads together to think up ways to counter threats from gangsters. One idea is to set up a security blanket, with the help of the city police, for those among the fraternity targeted by gangsters. A less passive measure that has found favour is for the business community to organise its own security. The extent of the crisis can be gauged on another score: an extraordinary court ruling a few months ago, challenged by the income tax department, said that extortion money paid out to gangsters be exempted from tax.

The new and strident response to the crisis springs from the fact that of late targets of extortion and killings in Bombay are not limited to those with business links to the underworld. At one time, the victims were mostly builders and film personalities who had borrowed heavily from the gangsters to sustain their businesses. The attitude of the rest of the film world and business fraternity was then unsympathetic. "If you sup with the devil, you reap a bitter harvest," was the general sentiment.

No longer. Extortionists have now begun to target even honest tax-payers. The new, surprise victims are professionals—successful doctors, lawyers and ordinary businessmen who have nothing to do with the underworld. If one is wealthy or perceived to be wealthy, then one is automatically a potential target of an extortionist. "It is us today," says Y.P. Trivedi, president of the Indian Merchants’ Chamber (IMC). "It could be you tomorrow. So we have to fight back."

The IMC was the first to initiate measures against gangland threats. Much before the problem became so widespread, the IMC created a "safety net" in September by announcing a special telephone number for victims to call in with their complaints—anonymously. All that a victim might need by way of identification would be a number, self-formulated, in dealing with the anti-extortion cell of the Bombay police.

The problem is, the cell has not proved as successful as had been hoped. This, the IMC admits, is because the common man has lost confidence in the Bombay police. The popular perception is that should one report an extortion attempt to the police, word is bound to get back to the underworld. So no one really believes that anonymity will be maintained when calling on the IMC-sponsored number. This is no wild apprehension, concede senior IMC members. For, during discussions even Bombay police commissioner Ronald H. Mendonca admitted that there might be some black sheep among the police force.

Indeed, there are a host of examples which point to connivance between the police and the gangsters. As one businessman found to his dismay last month when he rushed to the police cell after receiving a demand for Rs 1 lakh. By the time he returned home, the extortionist was on the line again: "We know that you went to (such and such) police station and spoke to (such and such) officer. For this you will have to pay up Rs 2 lakh. Or you are a dead man." The terrified businessman coughed up the money.

As did a very senior lawyer who was admitted to a leading hospital in the city for an emergency surgery. He underwent several operations and was discharged after settling a bill of Rs 8.5 lakh. Three days later, an extortionist called and, after detailing the cost incurred at the hospital, demanded Rs 2 lakh. When the lawyer ignored the demand, he was beaten up. Fearing for his life, he quietly handed over the money a few days later to his tormentors.

Significantly, in this case underworld operators were not involved and the extortionists were merely petty thugs. Under the patronage of their political bosses, who may or may not be conversant with the details of the extortion operations, these petty operators are having a field day and squeezing the middle class dry. In one case the extortionist was found to be a neighbour not remotely involved with the underworld.

In fact, former Bombay police commissioner Julio Ribeiro clarifies that extortionists are not always underworld dons. He explains that many of the extortionists only threaten, but do not kill; hence this is mere racketeering, not organised crime—a distinction which provides little comfort to unfortunate victims.

Mohan Gurnani, president of the Federation Associations of Maharashtra, which is leading the move to withhold payment of taxes, believes the current economic down-slide is responsible for the recent spate of extortion threats. As for his novel protest, he notes, "We are not supporting the unethical businessmen. There has to be some self-regulation here because they definite-ly put us to disadvantage. What worries us is that even the ethical businessmen are now falling prey to such extortionists."

Both Gurnani and Trivedi are eager to see the Maharashtra government introduce its proposed "mini-TADA" to fight gangsters. They are also advocates of police encounters. But Ribeiro disagrees, saying this is no solution: "You kill one, several others will rise in their place. And in the process you will unnecessarily criminalise the police, who might kill a gangster today, an innocent tomorrow and you the day after for the money."

OTHERS hold that a mini-TADA law might be a way out if it comes along with some precautionary measures like setting up a review committee comprising police chiefs and human rights activists, including former high court judges, to review the cases before rather than after the suspects are charged under the law. In that case, Ribeiro suggests that the law be patterned on the Organised Crime and Racketeering Law of the US which brought down crime levels in cities like New York and Chicago.

Incidentally, Ribeiro, who was appointed chairperson of a Union home ministry committee to review crime and policing, submitted his report to home minister L.K. Advani on October 28. Among his recommendations: politicisation of the police must cease at once; the police should be more accountable to the law and not the politician; and, most importantly, the judicial process must be brought back on the rails. Which means every organised crime racket must be investigated, brought to court and the verdict delivered within the year; the courts must restrain lawyers from endlessly seeking extensions of dates and bail must not be given indiscriminately.

Similar recommendations have been made in the past, only to be ignored. But with the business community up in arms and honest tax-paying citizens being squeezed by the gangsters, the Manohar Joshi government and the police have perhaps received their last wake-up call. If the government does not act now, it could face a virtual revolt by the middle class.