Police officials say they have received information about gangsters like Ravi and Hemant Pujari forging new partnerships to corner income from city's commercial activity

THE recent killings orchestrated by underworld gangsters could just be the tip of the iceberg.

Police and underworld sources say the city's dark underbelly is in the midst of a resurgence fuelled by high real estate prices and increased construction and redevelopment activity taking place in various areas.



"There was a lull in underworld activity last year. There was less cash going around, resulting in foot soldiers and middle-level organisers not being hired.
u00a0
Now, with commercial activity increasing phenomenally in the city, gangsters want to make a killing while the boom lasts.

The recent murders were planned to spread terror among builders and businessmen and the city could witness more of these in the coming days," said a senior crime branch official.

A shake-up is also taking place in the underworld with gangsters making new alliances to make it to the top and corner the lion's share of income from different activities (see box).

One of the key new alignments is believed to be between fugitive gangsters Ravi Pujari and Kumar Pillai.

Pujari, who was believed to be a toothless tiger, catapulted himself into the upper echelons of the underworld by orchestrating three killings recently.

Pillai, an engineer-turned-gangster, is suspected to be holed up in South-East Asia. He was a key associate of slain gangster Amar Naik and his younger brother, Ashwin.

The other realignment is believed to be between Hemant Pujari named in the recent murder of businessman Angara Pujari and Dawood Ibrahim's second-in-command Chhota Shakeel.

Police records indicate that while members of the Dawood Ibrahim gang protected and shared business interests in south Mumbai and the western suburbs, rival Chhota Rajan dominated the north-eastern suburbs in the city and gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli held sway over Central Mumbai. "All that may change now," added the officer.

Joint Commissioner of Police and Crime Branch chief Himanshu Roy confirmed that they had received information on some specific realignments taking place in the underworld. "We are keeping a tab on that," he said.

The following are the activities from which underworld dons make the bulk of their money:

Areas of activity