He who pounces like a dog

There’s a running joke in Madurai households. It says that if you do not find a blade to sharpen your child’s pencil, you can make do with an aruval (a type of sickle or billhook). It’s a subtle indicator of how gangster culture has permeated this much-revered temple town in Tamil Nadu. Movies, television and pop culture have glorified the exploits of goondas from this region, brandishing aruvals , dishing out their trademarked retribution in spades, while lawmakers sit back and enjoy the spoils of the carnage. But the real life thugs are no ordinary ruffians. Many of them have been anointed with, or earned sobriquets that precede their reputations.

Almost three weeks ago, one of the most dreaded gangsters in Tamil Nadu was apprehended by the Chennai police. The man, referred to as ‘Dog’ Ravi, had 25 criminal charges against his name, including four homicides. His nickname was inspired by his former profession of a trainer and seller of pedigree dogs.

A senior officer from Chennai Police tells us, “Ravi’s infamy dates back to over a decade. In 1999, he murdered Nagaraj, the brother of a rowdy known as Dindigul Pandi. Then, in 2000, he was the prime accused in the murder of Ilango, the cousin brother of Varichiyur Selvam, a gangster from Madurai. He was also involved in the murder of a political leader from Tamil Nadu, Aladi Aruna in 2004. Many gangsters were gunning for Ravi’s blood, including Varichiyur Selvam, Dindigul Pandi and Solai Ravi. Dog Ravi was closely associated with other gangsters like Appalam Raja, Kakku Veeran and Manalmedu Shankar, whose friendship with Ravi dates back to 1996. It was also the year when the first criminal charge against Ravi was registered.”

While gangsters might be associated with all things bloody, they are known for their finer tastes as well. The official tells me, “Ravi used to own a dog imported from Switzerland, which he’d procured for about ₹1.5 lakh. During his arrest, we recovered a pistol of an American make from him which was worth over ₹1 lakh. Ravi was on the run since 2008, occasionally dropping by at his wife’s broiler shop in Ambattur, Chennai, but never staying put. Even his close associates never knew his whereabouts.” But Ravi has found a permanent residence after all — in the Chennai Police’s list of its most wanted gangsters. Keeping him company are Kalvettu Ravi, Kakkathoppu Balaji, Arcot Suresh and CD Mani.

Folks in Madurai say there’s an altogether different reason why Ravi earned the canine suffix. R Sivakumar, a crime reporter with a Madurai-based Tamil news magazine, says, “The nickname stuck to Ravi because of his tendency to pounce on his enemies like a dog. Of course, that was one of the lesser-known reasons for his epithet.”

There are also those like P Pandi, alias ‘Attack’ Pandi, the chief accused in the murder of ‘Pottu’ Suresh, a political functionary from Madurai. There’s a very quirky reason for Pandi earning his nickname. Sivakumar goes on to tell me, “In those days, Pandi used to sport a very distinctive hairstyle and one could pick him out from a crowd on the basis of his hairdo. His friends called his haircut an ‘Attack’ style. The words ‘attack’ and ‘assault’ are used as synonyms for ‘awesome’ in Madurai and Chennai slang. And that’s how he came to bear the name.” Apart from this, according to urban legend, Pandi used to be an accomplished kabaddi player in his hey day. He was known for his aggressive manoeuvres, which he unleashed every time he neared the opposing team.

If one were under the impression that the notoriety was limited only to the menfolk, he or she would be mistaken. A Mata Hari tale for modern times, Sivakasi Jayalakshmi’s exploits are the stuff of criminology textbooks. A con artist par excellence, Jayalakshmi hailed from the fireworks capital of Tamil Nadu.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a police inspector told me, “Jayalakshmi’s modus operandi was to ensnare high ranking police officials with a weakness for women. They in turn would shower her with gifts and gold. Believe it or not, her pastime was riding in the jeep with the policemen while they went on their rounds. She even wore a uniform during these patrols and managed to run her charade for almost a decade. Unfortunately for Jayalakshmi, the uniform gave her away and she was arrested a few years ago.”

Giving us a lowdown on how pseudonyms tend to get attached to certain offenders, he says, “The nicknames are usually given by the policemen themselves. When the police writer takes down the name of an accused in the register, he looks first for a distinguishable physical trait. Of course, that doesn’t work all the time. So you have to start digging into their history, look for associations, family names, businesses, etc. That’s how these felons end up with names like Thenga-kada Mariappan (he who used to be a tender coconut vendor), Appalam Raja (whose father used to sell appalams or papads), Kattikuttu Kalaimani (he whose preferred weapon was a knife) and so on.”

According to unofficial figures, about 186 rowdies have been identified in Madurai district so far. Out of these, 15 rowdies fall into the prize catch category. How do such goondas still evade the law? LR Arumugham, a police head constable, says, “There is an acute shortage of policemen on the field on any given day. Due to the lack of a proper shift-based routine (except in Chennai), many of the policemen work multiple shifts without proper sleep, food or rest. The salary paid to the policemen is also a pittance. To top it off, many low ranking policemen are delegated with orderly duties, when they could be out in the field, doing the jobs they were hired for. If this is the quality of workforce at hand, you cannot expect law and order to be in top order.”

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