Two back-to-back killings in the city have cast severe doubts on the law enforcement’s competence to rein in the seemingly upward spiral of street gangsterism.
The violent crimes have spawned a sense of insecurity among residents and also exposed the yawning gaps in criminal intelligence collection.
The latest casualty in the bloody internecine feud between urban street gangs was Shyam alias Manikuttan, a resident of Sreevaraham.
The police said a three-member armed gang waylaid the youth and stabbed him fatally with the sharp end of a broken glass bottle. Two youth, Rejith and Manoj, were injured in the melee.
However, it was the abduction and torture killing of Ananthu Girish, 21, on Tuesday that shocked and outraged citizens most.
Security camera images showed an armed gang dragging Girish from an eatery at Arishinmoodu and hustling him away on a motorbike to some unknown destination.
His friends and relatives found Ananthu’s battered body in an abandoned compound near the Government Polytechnic For Women at Kaimanam on Wednesday.
Blunt force
The police said Ananthu had died due to blunt force injuries.
They found the veins on his hands severed. Investigators said Ananthu and his friends had fought with a rival crew at the venue of a local temple festival and the opposing gang kidnapped and killed in retaliation later.
The Karamana police have come under harsh public criticism for not handling the active hostage situation proactively. Girish's relatives alleged that the police had remained indifferent to the perilous situation though locals had informed them about the youth’s abduction at around 4.10 p.m.
Security cameras
They alleged that police did not attempt to identify the abductors from the security camera images or trace their motorbikes and mobile phone numbers.
Girish’s friends said they believed the police could have saved the youth’s life had they acted promptly. They alleged the police had made a half-hearted attempt to trace Girish after his family submitted a written complaint at the local station house at 10 p.m.
The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has sought a report on the alleged police inaction from the City Police Commissioner.
Pack loyalties
The killing also highlights dilemma law enforcers faced on the street. An investigator said with most known gang leaders in prison the police were facing younger and rash street gangs, which glorified a delinquent subculture that lionised aggressive masculinity and pack loyalties.
