It's a lean spell for the 'encounter specialists'

MUMBAI: The ''encounter specialists'' of theMumbai police are virtually jobless these days.With a lull in encounter killings—only ten in the past eight months—the special squads are now busy nabbing robbers linked to underworld gangs.
Sources say that several underworld gangsters have resorted to robberies to fill their gang''s coffers. Police commissioner A N Roy has now directed the squads, such as those led by Pradeep Sharma, Vijay Salaskar and Praful Bhosale, to concentrate on gangsters who are into robberies for a living.
On Tuesday, Sharma arrested five men allegedly linked to the Rajan gang and involved in robberies in Mumbai,NaviMumbai and Pune in recent months.The five were arrested while they were planning a robbery at Hotel Shiv Sagar in Gorai onTuesday afternoon.One of the accused, Suresh Pujari alias SureshKotian (35) was a trusted aide of Naresh Thakur, a Rajan aide currently serving a jail sentence.Another, identified as Feroze Khan, was earlier convicted in an attempt tomurder case.
Just about a week ago, the special squad led by Salaskar had arrested eight Chhota Rajan gangsters who were now into robberies. The group leader, Vijay Singh Thakur, an alleged Rajan lieutenant, was earlier accused in a 1998 murder case when he and a few other Rajan cronies had gunned down Dawood aide Sajid Malbari.
Said a senior police officer, "Many of the Rajan gangsters were earlier robbers before they joined the gang. Facing a financial crunch and with most Rajan lieutenants operating from abroad, the local gang members are returning to their old profession."
As for the ''encounter specialists'', they have gunned down more than 330 gangsters from the Dawood Ibrahim, Chhota Rajan, Arun Gawli,Amar Naik and other underworld gangs in the last six years. This year, they gunned down only ten, including six from the Chhota Rajan gang, one each from the Dawood andHemant Pujari gangs and two alleged Lashkar militants.
Sources said that officers working in the crime branch squads rely heavily on "support" from superiors as encounters are considered to be a "policy decision". When Pradeep Sawant, the former deputy commissioner who was subsequently arrested in Telgi scam,was at the crime branch, he had supervisedmore than 300 encounter killings. The city witnessed 37 encounters last year, compared to 47 in 2002, 94 in 2001, 73 in 2000 and 83 in 1999.