From southern towns to city's dens, the birth & business of hired hitmen

On January 11, vice president of Kalpataru Power Trans mission Limited, V Venkateshwaralu, left a pharmacy and was about to board his car when two men on a bike hacked him to death. The assailants killed the executive, left his driver seriously injured in less than a minute, and fled. After the roadside murder of neurosurgeon Dr Subbiah, which was caught on camera, in September 2013, this was the second high profile and sensational killing in public.While Dr Subbiah was murdered because of a property dispute, Venkateshwaralu was killed because he had cancelled contracts. The similarities don't end here. In both cases, the murderers were from southern districts. Three men from Kanyakumari killed Dr Subbiah and assailants from Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi bumped off Venkateshwaralu.
Sources say easy money and a slow legal process, during which many murder suspects come out on bail within three months of arrest, have lured youths to this deadly trade. “A suspect can get bail within 90 days if the law enforcement agency does not submit a chargesheet,“ said senior counsel and Madras high court lawyer V Kannadasan.
“Filing of chargesheets is delayed in most murder cases due to the lethargic attitude of police personnel. The assailants threaten witnesses who turn hostile. The case weakens in the process,“ he said.
While movies tend to show an organised criminal, suitably wearing a black suit, with sophisticated weapons eliminating the `target', the reality is different. In the case of Venkateshwaralu, the mastermind Muthu Pandi, a contractor, approached first-time of fenders Siva and Muthu through one Arul Jothi. Police said Muthu Pandi handed over Rs 2 lakh which the trio shared. In the murder of neurosurgeon Dr Subbiah, said a policeman, the three hirelings were given Rs 50,000 each.
According to retired police officer B Arvindan, of late, many plots are being hatched in prison.“The prison grounds bring first time offenders and notorious criminals together. Many petty offenders commit serious crimes once they are released,“ he said.
“This shows how ineffective the rehabilitation programme is for people in conflict with law. And since society treats most offenders as outcastes, they are driven to more serious crimes to earn a livelihood,“ he said.
A senior police officer, who has served in Tirunelveli, says lack of education, especially among the poor in southern districts, and social isolation force many petty offenders to pick up arms.
But that said, very few criminals in Chennai and northern parts of the state turn contract killers.
A senior police officer handling the anti-gangster unit said, “Criminals here are aware of the consequences of murdering a person. They can earn several lakhs, and even in crores, by merely settling a land dispute in a kangaroo court instead.“
While the illusion of going up the ranks after committing a murder, or the assurance of financial security from a `godfather' might encourage youths to turn hired killers, police officials say the menace can be tackled effectively if the judiciary and law enforcement agencies work in tandem.
“This will create a fear among these people. Most dreaded gangsters like Nagendran are now in jail only because of the stern action taken by the city police,“ said a police officer.