The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Crimes involving Gorkhas on the rise

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 19, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Crimes involving Gorkhas on the rise

INCIDENTS OF Gorkhas indulging in crimes are being regularly reported from the city. In the last one month, the Jayanagar and the Madivala police have arrested five Nepali Gorkhas, Kisan Bahadur (24), Sibu Singh (38), Raj Bahadur (24), Anil Bahadur (21) and Jagadish Bahadur (22), who were allegedly involved in several cases of house break-in and theft. The police have recovered from them electronic gadgets, gold ornaments and silver articles, together worth Rs. 2.75 lakhs.

In the last four years, the city police have arrested around 70 Nepali Gorkha watchmen who allegedly committed murders, burglaries and dacoities here. In 2003, the 23rd Additional City Civil and Sessions Court sentenced eight Gorkhas to five years rigorous imprisonment for planning to loot Vijaya Bank's branch near Central College on April 21, 2002.

The most shocking of the "Gorkha crimes" came to light in April 2002, when the Upparpet police arrested a gang of eight Gorkhas that was allegedly involved in five murders.

The police said the Gorkha gang had murdered the security guards of the SJR College's Rajajinagar and Anand Rao Circle branches, the watchmen of the Vasanthnagar post office, a private computer education institute in Koramangala and a gas cylinder firm at Jalahalli.

A few months ago, the Kamakshipalya police arrested Shankar Bahadur, Dyan Bahadur and Namraj Bahadur of Bajahang district of Nepal who allegedly murdered the watchman of Shell Apparels in Sunkadakatte and made away with Rs. 4.65 lakhs.

In April 2001, the Fraser Town police arrested seven Gorkha watchmen who allegedly committed 11 burglaries and recovered property worth over Rs. 1 lakh. Seven members of the gang who had fled to Nepal are still at large.

Many of the crimes in which Gorkhas are allegedly involved have remained unsolved and properties worth about Rs. 1.15 crores stolen by them are yet to be recovered.

As the accused have reportedly disposed of the stolen goods in Nepal, the police are finding it difficult to recover them because of legal hurdles.

Though the City Crime Branch was authorised to coordinate with the agencies concerned to get the absconding persons back to India, nothing has materialised.

In one case, the security forces on the India-Nepal border had caught the Gorkhas who were trying to enter Nepal along with the goods they had allegedly stolen from Giria's showroom here.

Though there has been an influx of Gorkhas from Nepal and other Indian States, particularly Andhra Pradesh, to Bangalore, no mechanism is in place to keep a tab on the new entrants.

A few years ago, the police had suggested that every new Gorkha who comes to the city should register himself with the Gorkha associations by submitting his personal details and a photograph.

However, the three Gorkha associations in the city claim that their interaction with the police is limited and most of the new Gorkhas do not register with them.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka

News Update

Stories in this Section

People's initiative to save a lake

Bank heist: police form three teams

A Christmas gift for these Tanzanians

History of the water body

College student run over by lorry

Two children die in accident

Processing charge

Around The City

In Bangalore Today

Crimes involving Gorkhas on the rise