The word possibly comes from the Hindi word guṇḍā (Hindi: गुंड, "rascal").[1][2] There is also the identically-spelled Marathi word with a similar meaning, attested as early as the 17th century, and possibly ultimately having Dravidian roots.[3] Another theory suggests that it originates from the English word "goon". However, the first English-language appearance of "goonda" (in British newspapers of the 1920s, with the spelling "goondah") predates the use of "goon" to mean criminal, a semantic change which seems to go back only as far as the 1930s comic strip character Alice the Goon.[1] Related terms are goonda-gardi and gundai,[4] roughly meaning bully-boy tactics, gang violence or gang warfare.[5] Another is goonda tax, referring to bribes or money extorted in a protection racket.[2] Another term is goonda raj which means that the government of a region is being governed by gang affiliated politicians and has high levels of crime and gang violence[6] and those politicians who have affiliations with gangs are called dabang netas meaning bully leaders[7] or bahubalis meaning strong-armed men or strongmen.[8][9]
The Tamil Nadu Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug-offenders, Forest-offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders, Slum-grabbers and Video Pirates Act (Tamil Nadu Act 14 of 1982; "Video Pirates" was not added by Act 32 of 2004), Section 2(f) states "goonda means a person, who either by himself or as a member of or leader of a gang habitually commits, or attempts to commit or abets the commission of offence, punishable under Chapter XVI or Chapter XVII or Chapter XXII of the Indian Penal Code (Central Act XLV of 1860)".[16] According to a 2011 ruling of the Madras High Court, even a single offense under the Act permits detention of a person as a goonda.[17]
The Karnataka Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug-Offenders, Gamblers, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders and Slum-Grabbers Act (Act 12 of 1985), as amended by Act 16 of 2001, in Section 2(g) states "goonda means a person who either by himself or as a member of or leader of a gang, habitually commits or attempts to commit or abets the commission of offences punishable under Chapter VIII, Chapter XV, Chapter XVI, Chapter XVII or Chapter XXII of the Indian Penal Code (Central Act XLV of 1860)".[18] In 2014 the Karnataka government brought most offences under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and Indian Copyright Act, 1957, under the ambit of the Goonda Act. Until now, people with a history of offences like bootlegging, drug offences and immoral trafficking could be taken into preventive custody. But the government, in its enthusiasm, while adding acid attackers and sexual predators to the law, has also added 'digital offenders', meaning "any person who knowingly or deliberately violates, for commercial purposes, any copyright law in relation to any book, music, film, software, artistic or scientific work and also includes any person who illegally enters through the identity of another user and illegally uses any computer or digital network for pecuniary gain for himself or any other person or commits any of the offences specified under sections 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 and 75 of the Information Technology Act, 2000".[19]
A gunda gang hurled petrol bombs at a hotel and a house at Poomala, near here, on Friday. The police arrested a seven-member gang in connection with the incident. Nobody was injured in the attack. According to local people, groups of drug addicts have been creating tension in the area for some time. The gangs threaten people, who complain against them to the police, they said.
Morena: On Friday, the Morena police team put an end to the reign of the notorious dacoit of Morena, Guddu Gurjar. Police arrested the last member of the gunda gang, identified as Karua alias Kalla Gurjar from the forests surrounding Shani Parvat, Madhya Pradesh.
Kalla Gurjar was reportedly carrying an amount of Rs 10,000 with him as he was hiding in the Pahadganj area of the state. Learning of the location, the Crime Branch and Rithora police immediately seized the area, and found the last gang member sleeping on rocks.
In the long list of crimes committed by Gudda Gurjar and his fellow gang members, the incident of encroachment of about 300 bighas of the forest land in Chanchaula village of Chambal by his relatives can't go unstated. When the people of the village protested against this, Gudda Gurjar threatened the people and demanded them to vacate the village.
Gudda Gurjar carried a reward of Rs 60,000 on his head. In the beginning of the November month, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan had given strict orders to catch hold of the dacoit and his gang. Following this, in the first week of November, Noorabad police arrested two members of the gang. Soon after, Gudda Gurjar was also arrested from Bhawarpura forests in a police encounter. The recent arrest of the scot-free team member, Kalla, marked the end of their reign.
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