Crime? It's all in the name

KOLKATA: In the dark underbelly of crime, some things transcend barriers of time and geography. The issue of a snappy and sinister nickname, for example. If America had trembled at the mention of a certain "Scarface Al" Capone or a "Babyface" Nelson in the Twenties and Thirties, we, too, have criminals with monikers colourful enough to give the best or worst, depending upon your outlook of them a run for their ill-gotten money.
The truth is, until you have an alias that's interesting enough, you have just not arrived in crime be it in Prohibition-era America or present-day Bengal.Such as "Mati" Gaffar for Vedic Village land-grabber Gaffar Hossein Mollah or "Khude" for his close aide Ajibul Islam, brother of Trinamool MLA Arabul Islam.
A crook without a smart nickname is simply inconsequential, either an amateur or a blotch on his fraternity someone looked down upon, relegated to contemptuous obscurity. He has to win his spurs to add dignity akin to a knighthood' to his name before he's worthy of recognition.
Once a name is obtained, the trick is in the interpretation. While many use their names to aggressively expand their criminal fiefdoms, others merely operate under aliases to foil efforts of police to identify them. At this stage in a crook's career, his nickname is his title.
Exalted titles, however, are eagerly sought after. The law-breaker cannot merely assume an alias. He has to win it after a hard fight that often involves years of struggle. This is true for the dreaded Gaffar, whose land-grab activities, witnessed a spurt after he "won the right" to use Mati before his name.
Gaffar is among the small number of crooks who have risen to the status of a "don" and are spoken of with awe by their underworld peers. "A criminal is known by the alias he assumes. This alias symbolizes fear in his area of operation. People often get the message that they have to pack their belongings or wind up their shops on hearing that a criminal with a particular alias is on his way to that area," said North 24-Parganas SP Rahul Srivastava.
Khude, said to be Gaffar's right-hand man, has an interesting history behind his "title". He and his brother Arabul had spent their childhood going door to door in search of khud (broken rice) for their meal. This, coupled with the fact that he is small in stature, gave Ajibul his Khude.
Interestingly, another of Gaffar's gang member, Sheikh Babu, (Kelobabu) got his nickname from his pitch dark skin. Kelobabu, a terror in Basirhat's Haroa area, had joined Gaffar's team two years back. This salaried henchman, incidentally, has an another nickname Katababu thanks to a cut mark in his face.
Others owe their aliases to crimes. For instance, Khairul Hassan, alias Aapel, won his title' after shooting dead, in a fit of rage, a Hooghly apple vendor who refused to give away his wares for free. He later shifted to Rajarhat where he took to promoting and extortion.
Likewise, Howrah's comrades-in-crime Swapan Bar and Swapan Das, alias Mach Swapan and Chaal Swapan respectively, got their knighthoods' from the trades they pursued before taking to crime. While the erstwhile fish trader became an extortionist and promoter in central Howrah, the former rice trader was a gangster in south Howrah. Both were killed by rivals last year.
Another infamous criminal, Dilip Banerjee, earned his name "Hathkata" when he was starting out in crime. A bomb that he was making reportedly went off while he was holding it, and he lost his left hand from the wrist onwards.
Even Maoists, it appears, are not averse to a colourful name. Dilip Mandi apparently got his nickname Maradona' from his sprinting skills, which reminded locals in Jangipara of the soccer legend's dribbles.
What's in a name, the bard might have famously asked. Going by the gangster's name-game, he didn't know a thing about criminal psychology.