In a revealing conversation that challenges popular Bollywood narratives, former Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanandhan has dismantled the myth of the trigger-happy "encounter specialist" that dominated public imagination during the city's bloody underworld wars of the 1990s.
The Real Story Behind Mumbai's Crime Crackdown
Speaking candidly about one of the most turbulent periods in Mumbai's history, Sivanandhan emphasized that the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA), not extra-judicial killings, proved to be the most crucial weapon in dismantling organized crime networks.
"The perception that encounter specialists single-handedly wiped out the underworld is largely media and film creation," the former top cop revealed. "While encounters did happen when absolutely necessary, they were never our primary strategy."
MCOCA: The Legal Game-Changer
Sivanandhan highlighted how MCOCA, introduced in 1999, fundamentally changed the rules of engagement with organized crime. The legislation provided law enforcement with powerful tools that previous laws lacked:
- Admissibility of confession statements made to police officers
- Special provisions for bail and attachment of properties
- Enhanced witness protection measures
- Longer detention periods for investigation
"MCOCA allowed us to attack the financial backbone of organized crime," Sivanandhan explained. "We could now go after the money trails, properties, and entire networks rather than just individual gang members."
The Strategic Shift in Policing
The former commissioner described how the police approach evolved from reactive encounters to sophisticated intelligence-led operations. The focus shifted to:
- Building strong cases that would stand in court
- Targeting the economic infrastructure of crime syndicates
- International cooperation to track down fugitives
- Using technology and forensic evidence
"We realized that killing one gangster would only create a vacuum for another," Sivanandhan noted. "But dismantling their entire operation through legal means had lasting impact."
Beyond the Bollywood Stereotype
The former top cop expressed concern about how popular culture has romanticized the encounter specialist phenomenon, creating a distorted public perception of police work during that era.
"The reality was far more complex and less dramatic than what's shown in films," he said. "Our most significant victories came through painstaking investigation and legal strategy, not through shootouts."
Sivanandhan's revelations provide a crucial correction to the historical narrative, emphasizing that Mumbai's victory over organized crime was won in courtrooms and investigation rooms, not just on the streets.
