Rise in underworld crimes worry cops

BENGALURU: The number of cases involving the underworld is on the rise in Karnataka. The arrest of gangster Kaviraj in the kidnap-forransom of former minister Varthur Prakash by the Kolar police has raised concerns over the alleged involvement of the former’s mentor and jailed don Ravi Pujari in the sensational case.

This is the fourth case which has strong footprints of the criminal abyss in Karnataka. “There is a pattern emerging behind the three killings in the State (Kishan Hegde on September 24 in Udupi, Manish Shetty on October 15 in Bengaluru and Surendra Bantwal on October 21 in Bantwal) and the Prakash kidnap case in which the hand of Pujari and his former protégé Vicky Shetty cannot be ruled out. Shetty had fallen out with Pujari and the recent cases in Karnataka could be a result of a turf war between the two gangsters after reformed don-turned social activist Muthappa Rai’s death in May,” said sources.

“This is a matter of concern for the police as there have been no big cases in the State involving the mafia for some time,” they added. Though the police have so far refused to comment on Pujari’s involvement in the case, according to sources, it is possible that the gangster had “sent out a message to his cronies from inside the prison to arrange for funds for his legal expenses or to gain ground in the City’s underworld post Rai’s death”.

“It is also possible that Kaviraj had planned Prakash’s kidnapping on his own over money matters,” added sources. The association of Pujari with Kaviraj goes back to the Shabnam Developers case in which the two had conspired to kill the former corporator and owner of Shabnam Developers -- Shamiulla -- in 2007.