Rise in contract killings in Andhra Pradesh

Visakhapatnam: There has been a rise in the number of contract killings in Andhra Pradesh in the recent past. In areas such as Vizag and Vijayawada, interstate gangs are being hired to carry out criminal activities and eliminate rivals. A series of crimes involving the use of firearms has exposed the prevalence of supari culture in the state. Cops are beginning to worry about how these activities can be put an end to.

The gunning down of businessman P. Muralikrishna at Parvathipuram in Vizianagaram on July 22 and the murder of Vizag-based businessman Vikram Prakash Dhamija on July 17 are some of the recent incidents involving interstate gangs.

In Vijayawada, cops busted gangs of killers who worked on contract and found that most of them came from either Bihar or Jharkhand, while a few of them came from Odisha and West Bengal. A senior police officer on condition of anonymity said that some people had also been engaging gangs to smuggle ganja and other drugs.

Dr K. Fakeerappa, the DCP of the North Zone of Vizag, said that the interstate gangs had been involved in dacoity, contract killings, and ganja smuggling.

Police officers believe that interstate gangs are better at committing crimes as compared to local gangs because they are able to escape from the crime scene without a trace, which is why people have been hiring them to carry out their dirty work.

The gangs use illegal fire arms manufactured in West Bengal and Bihar. I. Chittibabu, the ACP of the Task Force, said that marijuana trade and the fake currency business in AP had gotten murkier with the involvement of weapon-wielding gangs.

Interstate gangs have been found to be involved in crimes carried out in Vijayawada, Tirupati, and Kakinada; their activities have largely been restricted to the northern parts of AP. A senior police officer said that nabbing the gangs had become a major challenge for them due to the lack of coordination among police officers.