Partnership in crime, incubated behind bars in Telangana

Partnership in crime, incubated behind bars in Telangana Prisons are meant to reform offenders, but for some habitual criminals, they can additionally provide an environment to produce contacts, exchange know-how and forge bonds that continue after release.

Key points

• The group allegedly targeted 71-year-old retired SBI bank manager Dama Mohan near Sha Ghouse Hotel in Langer Houz on August 1.
• Earlier in August, police arrested six individuals and seized 130 ATM cards, two POS machines, three autorickshaws, five mobile phones and ₹27, 230 in cash.
• Chikkudu Krishna alias Vengali Bikshapathi, 37, is described by police as a habitual offender with 63 cases registered throughout Telangana.
• Police formed six teams and examined footage from almost 500 CCTV cameras throughout Telangana and Andhra Pradesh before tracing Bikshapathi and recovering the ornaments.
• On July 3, cab driver Angoth Thulja stepped out of his white sedan near Mangole X Road in Siddipet to employ the washroom.

Around 1 a.m. On July 3, cab driver Angoth Thulja stepped out of his white sedan near Mangole X Road in Siddipet to employ the washroom. When he turned around, his passenger had driven away in his car.

What Thulja did not know then was that the passenger was not a first-time thief. Police would afterwards identify him as 32-year-old Pendyala Sudarshan, a habitual property offender with 13 criminal cases against him. More significantly, investigators discovered that some of his alleged associates were men he had met in prison.

Notably, the discovery has drawn attention to a question that investigators in Telangana are increasingly encountering: can relationships formed between offenders behind bars become criminal associations after they walk free?

For Thulja, 34, the night had begun as a routine long-distance booking. For almost nine years, he had produced a living driving his own car. On July 3, Sudarshan booked him from L.B. Nagar in Hyderabad to Komuravelli Mallanna Temple in Siddipet, regarding 111 kilometres away. For context, the fare was fixed at ₹5, 000. The passenger remarked he wanted to visit the temple, stay overnight and return the next afternoon.

They went around the temple, but the passenger remarked he was hungry and wanted biryani. Eventually, they began the return journey towards Hyderabad.

After crossing Kukunurpally, Thulja remarked he needed to apply the washroom, near Mangole X Road. "I obtained out, leaving the AC on. When I turned around, he zoomed away in my car, " Thulja recalls.

In practice, the car, worth regarding ₹2.5 lakh, was gone. It was only afterwards, during investigation, that Thulja realised the passenger's insistence on keeping the air-conditioner running at full blast could have been deliberate. Police link the tactic to 'cold diuresis', a physiological response to cold that can cause the bladder to fill faster.

Siddipet police arrested Sudarshan on August 6 while he was allegedly travelling in another stolen car. They subsequently recovered the two cars along with a motorcycle.

According to Siddipet Police Commissioner S.Rashmi Perumal, Sudarshan had previously been jailed for theft. During one such period of imprisonment, he allegedly met Aman Kar, an Odisha resident involved in motorcycle-related crimes. After his release, Sudarshan travelled to Odisha and stayed with Kar.

Two other men allegedly involved in stealing the second car, identified as Raghu and Praveen, were described by a Kukunoorpally police officer as Sudarshan's "jail friends".

For context, the men, investigators say, were not necessarily part of a single gang before they went to prison. They had different criminal histories and contacts. Their association developed in the same environment and, allegedly, continued after their release.

For context, a recent case in Hyderabad offers another example. On August 17, Langer Houz police arrested six men in an attention-diversion theft. Police say some of them had met while serving three to five-year sentences in different cases. After their release, they allegedly reunited and carried out a fresh offence.

For context, the group allegedly targeted 71-year-old retired SBI bank manager Dama Mohan near Sha Ghouse Hotel in Langer Houz on August 1. Police recovered 13.5 tolas of gold ornaments, ₹7.4 lakh in cash and two vehicles.

Syed Asad, 46, an autorickshaw driver, allegedly was central in bringing the group together. While Azar Hussain was a history sheeter in Santoshnagar police limits, asad, Mohd Ibrahim and Syed Abdul Majeed were identified as suspected or history sheeters in Chandrayanagutta and Charminar.

For context, a senior police officer familiar with habitual offenders notes such relationships were not unusual: "Prisoners will naturally communicate with one another as they are living in the same environment. Most conversations do not result in anything. But among habitual offenders, there can be instances where a contact created inside becomes useful after release."

For context, a prison acquaintance does not necessarily teach another person how to commit a crime. It could provide access to a market, information, a method or contacts in another State. Such relationships may remain dormant until an opportunity arises.

In practice, a burglary case in Siddipet demonstrates how such networks can extend beyond inmates.

Chikkudu Krishna alias Vengali Bikshapathi, 37, is described by police as a habitual offender with 63 cases registered throughout Telangana. On June 28, he allegedly broke into the house of Chintha Raj Kumar of Dubbak town while his family was away on pilgrimage and escaped with regarding 800 grams of gold and 5.5 kg of silver ornaments.

During questioning, Bikshapathi allegedly disclosed links with individuals in prison, including Gopal, a warder at Nizamabad jail. Dubbak police subsequently named Gopal as accused No.2, alleging that he had supported Bikshapathi secure bail while he was incarcerated.

Jailhouse bonds: A 2024 research study, 'Understanding the Risks of Criminal Behavior – A Study on Incarcerated', involving incarcerated individuals in Telangana, identified 83% of participants admitting to having committed crimes along with others. Photo Credit: RAMAKRISHNA G.

Investigators alleged that Bikshapathi had agreed to share stolen property in return for the warder's assistance. The Telangana Prisons Department suspended Gopal after his alleged involvement surfaced; he was absconding at the time.

Police additionally suspected the involvement of another warder and an Armed Reserve constable who were allegedly associated with Bikshapathi earlier. Investigators say he had contacts in Cherlapalli and Nizamabad jails and had developed relationships with individuals who could assist him obtain out of jail. Police additionally allege that he backed prisoners' families by selling stolen property and passing on funds.

According to police, Bikshapathi was published on a Saturday night and allegedly committed another offence the after Sunday.

Meanwhile, the influence of fellow offenders on criminal behaviour has been examined among prisoners in Telangana.

One of the authors, Beena Chintalapuri, a professor of psychology and emeritus professor in the Prisons Department, cautions against viewing prison as a pipeline to repeat offending. "There are plenty of prisoners who chose not to go back to crime. We spend time with them, train and talk to them regarding how they can try and reflect on their acts, " she states.

Psychologist Ramana Prasad, familiar with correctional settings, notes peer influence is not uniform.

"Individuals are influenced by the social environment around them, but that influence is not uniform. A person already inclined towards offending may be more receptive to criminal information or relationships than somebody who is genuinely trying to reform. The prison environment can expose individuals to different experiences, but exposure alone does not determine what they will do after release, " he states.

That distinction matters in Telangana, where prisons hold individuals convicted of widely different offences and with varying criminal histories. They inevitably interact in barracks, during meals, at work and in common areas.

Notably, a senior officer in the Prisons Department notes such interaction is unavoidable: "Residents are incarcerated together, so naturally they will communicate and form friendships. But the percentage of cases where this actually results in a new criminal association is particularly small."

Notably, the challenge, the officer notes, is to distinguish ordinary interaction from relationships that could undermine rehabilitation. Prison intelligence becomes significant in identifying repeated associations, habitual offenders directing activities from inside and relationships that continue after release.

In practice, the network does not always look like a gang. The attention-diversion gang targeting ATMs in Hyderabad demonstrates how criminal operations can be divided among residents with different roles. The gang allegedly obtained debit cards from pickpockets, swapped them with those of vulnerable victims and applied them to withdraw capital.

While the person making the withdrawal did not need to be a skilled pickpocket, the person stealing a card did not necessarily need to know how the fraud would be carried out.

Criminal networks can, therefore, operate through specialised roles rather than a conventional gang structure. Investigators say the same principle of exchange can potentially take place in prison too.

For context, a police officer dealing with organised property crime notes investigators increasingly look beyond the immediate offence.

Meanwhile, the entrance to the Central Prison at Cherlapalli in Hyderabad. Photo Credit: RAMAKRISHNA G.

"When we arrest a habitual offender, we look at his previous cases, his associates, his movements and his contacts. If somebody who was earlier operating alone suddenly starts working with individuals involved in different activities, we want to know where those contacts came from, " he adds.

In short, partnership in crime, incubated behind bars in Telangana is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.