In a bid to reduce the crime rate in slums pockets, the Mumbai Police have started taking good behavior bonds from habitual offenders, and are also invoking stringent sections of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) wherever necessary. The police have so far booked 21 people, who had been indulging in criminal activities for the past few years, under MCOCA. The police also took bonds for good behaviour from over 1,000 habitual offenders.
“People, who operate small gangs in areas like Deonar, Mankhurd and Govandi and Trombay, are real menace. They did not even hesitate to kill people just for sake of maintaining their supremacy in the area, as a reason we have decided to come down heavily on them, said a police office. Invoking MCOCA means they won't be able to procure bail easily and would be behind bars for year or two or at times even more,” said police official.
Last week, Deonar police invoked MCOCA charges in a case of murder in which a 38-year-old carpenter was stabbed by the three accused and robbed his mobile. The victim Ajay Yadav later died during treatment. During the investigation, it was revealed that the main accused Arif Hussain Khan, operates a local gang and at least 12 offences have been registered against him in last eight years.
In just over a month, the Mumbai police have invoked stringent MCOCA charges against 21 people of them 16 are still behind bars while the remaining five are still at large. All these 21 accused were part of some or other groups, which have been involved in series of criminal activities including murder, assault cases, thefts, robberies, drugs consumption and possession cases, encroachments related offences and so on, said police.
The Mumbai Police have also intensified their drive against the habitual offenders who possess equal risk. In last over a month, the police have taken over 1,000 bonds of good behavior making the accused to promise not to indulge in criminal activity for a particular period. Habitual offenders, criminals with multiple cases and the people who were likely to breach the peace have been made to sign the bonds, said a police officer. For every violation of the bond, the accused would be asked to pay hefty penalty or he could be sent to jail as well or both, added the officer.
Most of the bonds have been taken under the section 107 ( security for keeping peace in other cases) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) there number is around 750 while another 250 have been taken under section 110 (security for good behaviour from habitual offenders), the rest were taken under section 109 and 108 of the CrPC, said police.
