News courtesy-Times of India
HYDERABAD: Over the last one decade, Hyderabad has been witness to many realty-related crimes, including gory killings and kidnappings, primarily involving land `mafias', the most recent being the sensational murder of Maddelachervu Suri on Monday.
It was only three months ago when a similar murder had sent shock waves across the city when TDP leader Chalasani Venkateshwara Rao was killed at Maduranagar by his close aide Mahender Reddy. The reason here again was a dispute over an illegal land settlement.
The seeds of this dirty business of land in Hyderabad were sown in the mid-90s when scores of investors from the other regions of Andhra Pradesh (primarily Rayalaseema) trooped into the city to try their hand at real estate. Minor goons in their towns until then, these alleged investors gradually networked themselves with construction companies and helped them `settle' land deals.
"Their numbers grew consistently and by the time the sector hit its peak around 2004-05, the market was full of such mafias," said a city developer pointing out how property-related crimes too shot through the roof during this period. "Illegal dealings were their forte and the only way they settled scores with people was by either holding them to a lumpsum or killing them," the developer added.
A case in point is the spurt in kidnappings in Hyderabad, seen particularly in 2010, with many of these cases involving land mafias.
And while real estate was their core field of interest, these mafia groups even made headway into other dubious transactions. The money, coupled with muscle power and sufficient political backing, found them invest heavily in the film industry, illegal liquor trade and benami business ventures, say sources in the realty sector.
"A good number of these people today have high-profile construction companies in the city and are also major stake-holders in several private firms that they have floated in other peoples' names," said a criminal lawyer familiar with the truth of many companies thriving on the money of land mafias in Hyderabad. He added, "Most of these goons have criminal records but are only surviving because of political support."
City realtors agree and point out the case of Mohd Sameer who, about two years ago, shot dead his relative in cold blood in the upmarket Banjara Hills area, following a land dispute. The incident happened in 2008, when Sameer allegedly walked into the office of his aide in broad daylight and killed him following a heated argument. "Even before this case, the man was notorious for his dubious dealings. Under the banner of his company, Sameer Properties and Resorts, he had duped scores of people to the tune of crores of rupees," alleged a real estate consultant operating in the area, adding, "So when he did commit the murder, it came as no surprise to us."
Intriguingly, city cops not only admit to this thriving empire of land mafias but even confess that policemen, at various levels, help these criminals to get past legal hassles. "It is not a problem for these powerful (both physically and monetarily) men to manipulate the police, especially those in the lower rungs. As a result, most killings or kidnappings involving lesser known land grabbers do not even come to our notice," said a senior cop from the state. However, the police official said that the number of such cases has dropped in the recent past, thanks to the drop in land rates.
"The market slump has turned land investments very unattractive. So, the number of such crimes have automatically come down. But this again could unfortunately be only a temporary phase," the cop said.
City’s realty boom steeped in blood
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