'Want info? Give us guns & flats'

Updated On: 26 July, 2011 06:34 AM IST | | Akela

In an exchange offer of sorts, police khabris are demanding huge favours to part with information on blasts, which often turns out to be vague and inaccurate

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In an exchange offer of sorts, police khabris are demanding huge favours to part with information on blasts, which often turns out to be vague and inaccurate
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Until a year ago, when you read stories of the Mumbai Police force and their informer network, you got the impression that it was a sacrosanct symbiotic relationship the one utilising the other for extracting information, and in turn, looking out for him, extending patronage, money and resources of other kind.

That story has now gone astray of the intended script. The sympatico khaki-khabri bond has turned parasitic, pockmarked with greed and mistrust.

The gaping chinks in their association are apparent now that the men in uniform are encumbered with an epic case to solve the triple blasts of July 13. And the informers, privy to how clueless cops are in this case, are milking it.

As officials of the state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Crime Branch of Mumbai Police chase that one copper-bottomed lead that will crack the blasts case, their one-time trusted sources are busy preparing long wish lists they want fulfilled, for even a sliver of information that has a one-in-a-million chance of turning out to be correct, according to cops.

Senior police officials from the Mumbai police have been flooded with inane, never-heard-before demands from the khabris.
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While some are demanding hefty sums of money, as much as Rs 5 lakh, others are asking for an arms licence, a house to live in, and sundry other privileges to be extended to them, such as favours for admission of their kids in schools, and expecting wives in hospitals.

Size of the prize
Interestingly, the whimsical demands of the khabris, or zeroes as they have come to be called, acquired a fillip after the state government announced a Rs-10 lakh cash reward to the 15-member Crime Branch team that cracked the J Dey murder case. Even though Dey's case was solved without any tip-off from an informer, the size of the kickback has spurred khabris to ask to be paid more.

It is no secret that the Mumbai police are under mammoth pressure after the blasts ripped through the city. No terrorist organisation has taken responsibility. No substantial clues or clinching evidence has been recovered. And the cops are desperate.
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They want to crack the case at any cost. In such a situation, they have little but the khabri network to fall on.u00a0 They can't even afford to dismiss their claims, and hence demands, even if they seem bizarre, extortionate or irrational.

According to an ATS officer, "Khabris come to us exhibiting great confidence in their information. They say that after giving the information, their death is certain, and then make the demands. Said one, 'I want to shift to another city. For this I want a flat and some cash.' Another informer demanded an arms licence."

The officer added, "Most of them are cocksure that they have the right dope on people we are looking for. They could be bluffing, but it is risky to discard their claims without at least verifying them."

At this stage comes in the negotiation of the reward. At times, if police officers agree to the khabri's price, he revises the stakes upwards.

On occasions, he is not the real informer but someone who knows or access to him. In such a scenario, another round of negotiations ensue. Cost of information is escalated. Discussions are held among different parties. But the khabri calls the shot in the end, cops said.

The officers are not allotted funds to pay off the informers. For a case such as the blasts, they may ask for anywhere between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5 lakh, depending how grave teh case is. Some officers enter into a covenant with the informers. They pay the informers more than the price quoted but after the case is solved.

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In any case, the problem with the informers' demands has little to do with how outlandish they are, and more with the "information" at stake. Cops say informers make absurd claims, but they have to be heeded, given how rarefied the situation is.
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"Two days ago, an informer told ATS that an Indian Mujahideen (IM) man was hiding in Bhiwandi. The information turned out to be rubbish.
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We verified and found nothing of the sort. I have given more than Rs 20,000 to khabris so far and have not received a single piece pf information that turned to be correct," said a top ATS official.