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The sandy beaches and the sleepy hamlets of Goa are no longer safe. Nor are they a sanctuary for the footloose. They are, in fact, turning into a hideout for members of the underworld from Mumbai.
The daylight murder of hotelier Mohammed Pandiyal last year highlights the fact that the Mumbai brand of gang war has already reached the sunny shores of Goa, hitherto known for it's shushegad (take it easy) attitude.
The sequence of events which lead to Pandiyal's murder in a busy marketplace at Madgaon in south Goa bore the stamp of Mumbai's underworld. The assailants stalked Pandiyal from rear and pumped two bullets in his head before escaping from the spot.
Later, the Goa police and their counterparts in Mumbai nabbed Abbi Nadar codenamed Raj from a hideout at Andheri. His associate, Sunil Dhanjode alias Bobby, was picked up from Goregaon.
Police recovered two foreign-made firearms from the Nadar hirelings. Investigations revealed that the duo were involved in several offences in the city.
Pandiyal's murder came hot on the heels of bookie Guru Poojary's murder at Comba near Margao town in March last year. The victim was shot five times from close range before the assailants fled from the scene of crime. The Goa police arrested Glen Peters and Felix Fernandes from Andheri. Again, both the sharpshooters were affiliated to the Nadar gang based in Mumbai.
These are not stray incidents. Gangsters have been playing hide-and-seek with the Mumbai police in Goa since the last few years. Members of special squads have been visiting Goa frequently after being tipped-off about the gangster's whereabouts there. Still, not many raids have yielded results since notorious criminal Charles Sobraj was nabbed from a restaurant near Mapusa, in north Goa, in mid- 1980.
At least two squads from the Mumbai and Thane police laid traps for gangster Suresh Manchekar after they were informed about his whereabouts in South Goa. However, he managed to escape the dragnet along with a few associates.
According to police sources, some
members of the Chhota Rajan gang have joined hands with the local drug
cartel there. These hirelings are providing cover to drug traffickers,
sources added. Members of the Ashwin Naik gang too have sought a safe haven
along the sandy beaches of Goa in the past few years. Particularly after
the police turned on the heat on the underworld in Mumbai.
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