This story is from September 13, 2015

Bandit business takes a hit in badlands of Bundelkhand

Gone are the days when dacoit gangs led by the dreaded Dadua and Thokia roamed the Chambal, brandishing AK-series assault rifles and Russian-made binoculars. The current crop that prowls in Bundelkhand, part of the Chambal region that extends into UP, relies on country-made weapons to carry out small-scale thuggery.
Bandit business takes a hit in badlands of Bundelkhand
ALLAHABAD: Gone are the days when dacoit gangs led by the dreaded Dadua and Thokia roamed the Chambal, brandishing AK-series assault rifles and Russian-made binoculars. The current crop that prowls in Bundelkhand, part of the Chambal region that extends into UP, relies on country-made weapons to carry out small-scale thuggery.
According to a dossier prepared by the Special Task Force as part of preparations for the forthcoming panchayat polls, the active dacoits in the Bundelkhand area, including Babuli Kol, Chunnilal alias Mehman, Gauri Yadav and Ramgopal alias Bhole alias Guppa, don’t have the cash for expensive rifles and rely either on the sturdy wooden .303 or locally made weapons.

Desperation has also led to a shift in the dacoits’ policies. “There are no Robinhood-like stories around anymore, the kind we used to hear about Dadua and Thokia. Instead of targeting the rich, they prey on just about anybody. They have recently started targeting primary school teachers in remote areas for small sums,” says a Chitrakoot-based journalist who has covered the feared ravines for the past two decades. Late last month, primary school teachers in Chitrakoot went on a strike to demand security. Special police teams were eventually deployed for them.
This is a far cry from the heydays of bandits like Shiv Kumar alias Dadua, Nirbhay Gujjar and Ambika Patel alias Thokia who would virtually have a parallel administration in Bundelkhand, particularly Banda and Chitrakoot districts. They would even collect tax and influence elections – from village panchayats to parliamentary polls. It is said that pradhans of nearly 500 villages were on Dadua’s payroll and his close kin became MPs and MLAs. The killing of Gujjar in a 2005 police encounter marked the beginning of the daku downfall. Dadua and Thokia, too, fell within the next three years, and the gangs became headless. While Sudesh Patel alias Balkharia tried to regroup the outlaws, he, too, was claimed by police bullets last month. The deaths were promptly followed by the surrender of Khachachu Patel and Gaya Patel.
“Only minor gangs now operate in Bundelkhand. Most of these are constantly on the run,” said STF deputy SP Pravin Singh. The gangs are so cash-strapped that they tap local manufacturers for weapons or ask their sympathizers to arrange for licensed weapons, said Singh.
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About the Author
Kapil Dixit

Kapil Dixit is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Mass Communications. He has covered crime at regional as well as state level. His hobbies include reading, writing and meeting people with diverse interests.

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