By Saroj Mishra
Bhubaneswar, Orissa's capital, is a city in transition. In the throes of a rebirth, its socio-cultural contours are changing and nothing mirrors this change better than crime, its dark underbelly.

Over the last one decade, the crime profile of Bhubaneswar , and for that matter, even neighbouring Cuttack has undergone a transformation. Big hits are being executed with increasing daredevilry.

More importantly crime has come to acquire an aura. Unlike in the past, gangsters are now openly flaunting their "gun power" and “connections”. Starlets and high profile bureaucrats are being drawn into gory controversies involving mafia dons.

Crime, in short, has made it big. For those who find this sickening, it is time for introspection. Gun culture started taking roots in the city over a decade ago and soon police admitted that crime was going hi tech. Perhaps the first gangland style killing in Bhubaneswar was the murder of Jharpada don Kuna Mangraj in his own den.

Hired killers from Jamshedpur tracked him relentlessly using mobile phones for two days. They finally managed to corner him in Jharpada and shot him at point blank range. His murder was the fallout of the rivalry between the Mangraj and Jena families of Jharpada who appear to have taken vendetta to new levels since then.

The last few years have seen a full-fledged underworld emerging in the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar with gangs fighting gory turf wars.

Even more frightening is the fact that big ticket gangsters like Sheikh Hyder have begun unleashing terror in these cities – the broad daylight murder of Sheikh Chunna, brother of Kendrapara don Sheikh Suleman in Bhubaneswar a few years ago being a glaring example.

With the twin cities witnessing a real estate boom and tender fixing bringing in easy money in bulk, crime now truly pays. Thanks to Anil Chhotray, who nurses a gastric problem along with a few grudges against his rivals, we got an insight into the murky world tender fixing which is alleged to have made politicians and contractors just as rich as the criminals hired to do the job.

Hyder and his boys have turned this into an organised racket with their empire extending right up to Jharkhand.

Back in the 80s "rangdari tax" and "phiroti" were the buzzwords in the crime world of undivided Bihar . One can hear their echo now in Orissa with extortion and kidnapping for ransom slowly becoming the trend. Police, unfortunately, have failed to keep pace with crime and the criminals being outsmarted rather easily.

Much more worrisome is the latest phenomenon of criminals openly pointing accusing fingers at starlets and high profile bureaucrats.

In the case of Raja Acharya, the gangster with a huge crush on actress Leslie Tripathy, the finger pointing could be just for the sake of publicity or to divert the attention of the police but even then it should be a cause for concern. The sheer audacity of the gangster is hair raising. And if there is even an iota of truth in what he is saying there can be nothing worse.

Even as police explore the different angles to the recent murder of Judo coach Biranchi Das, it is now crystal clear that big issues are involved. The case, which demonstrates the changing face of city's crime, is also a reflection on the transition that Bhubaneswar has been undergoing. The sooner this phase is over the better.