For city’s underworld, it is all in the family

Unlike Mumbai, flamboyant dons have not been a part of Chennai’s social fabric. However, the city has had its own share of gangsters lording over every imaginable type of crime, keeping the police on their toes.

Among the long list of active gangsters in the city, Nagendran (48) of Vyasarpadi is the leader currently controlling the entire gamut of illegal operations. After notorious gangster ‘Vellai’ Ravi was killed in a police encounter, Nagendran, who was his aide, took over from him. Although he is lodged in Puzhal prison, he gets things done through his brothers Murugan and Ramesh, and aide ‘Vellai’ Prakash. The latter is on the most-wanted list of the CB-CID. 

Amid talks that Nagendran is likely to be released due to ill health, police have mounted a vigil on other gangsters’ movements. The activities of Somu, another gangster, who was released recently on bail, are also being watched. After Nagendran, the next big gangster is ‘Kaadhukuthu’ Ravi, who amassed a vast amount of wealth and fled the country. However, he is said to be controlling the city’s underbelly from abroad. ‘Arumbakkam’ Radha alias Radhakrishnan (27), notorious for revenge murders and is said to have been controlling the ganja trade business, recently surrendered in Salem after his arch-rival Binu surrendered to the police, pleading clemency. Radhakrishnan’s aide Dakshinamoorthy is also in prison. Sources said Binu’s right-hand man, Kanagaraj, wanted to take control of the illegal businesses in the city from ‘CD’ Mani and Arumbakkam Radhakrishnan and used Binu, who was absconding for four years, as a tool and hosted a birthday party for him. However, police played spoilsport and arrested Kanagaraj too in Tirumullaivoyal weeks later. 

Mani, the one who is still at large, mostly targets realtors and the CCB’s anti-gangster unit is closing in on him. Chera, who once had the entire city under his thumb, has retired from an active role, but is happy to oversee his son Kathir donning the mantle in Madurai. Kathir is alleged to be behind three murders in the last few years. ‘Dog’ Ravi, a major gangster in the southern districts who surrendered in 2008, is said to be still active in Ambattur, which has irked Nagendran. ‘Mylapore’ Sivakumar murdered his opponent Periya Mahesh in Kancheepuram with the help of his henchman Syleshkumar. 

For many of the gangsters, businessmen are the main target. “More than anybody else, they can gather better details about white collar offenders, and blackmail them for a share. For example, they keep in touch with sub-registrars and even officials from the CMDA to get details about illegal land dealings and demand a share from the dealers. Mostly, they target illegal businesses because they know the offenders will yield to their threats. However, many of the murders are committed for revenge rather than for gain,” said a senior police officer. 

What emboldens the criminals are some lawyers, alleged an officer. “For Nagendran, two lawyers from Avadi and Pallikaranai do everything and even threaten judges to get orders in their favour. In some cases, the lawyers join the gangster as co-accused and go to prison to threaten the officials inside for better treatment for their ‘leader’ and to lure more men into their gang. Without such lawyers, the gangsters would be handicapped. Killers should not be supported in anyway. But one such lawyer is contesting in the upcoming Bar Council election,” he said. 

CoP When contacted, Commissioner of Police, Chennai, AK Viswanathan told DT Next that gangsters do not have any kind of patronage in the city. “The antisocial elements fear being exposed to police surveillance. So, they limit their activities to not draw any attention to themselves. The moment they realise police are looking for them, they fear serious action and come forward to surrender, as it happened in Binu’s case,” said the top cop, adding, “The Chief Minister has given us complete freedom to maintain law and order.”