Main Page                                                 Archives

Dreaded Chambal dacoit Arvind Gujjar surrenders

     Bhopal: Wanted for over half a dozen murders and scores of kidnappings, the dreaded dacoit Arvind Gujjar, who terrorised the Chambal valley for years, surrendered with his nine-member gang. He laid down arms in the presence of the Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Jagdhish Deora and senior police officials. "This group has been active in Bhind, Itawah, Jalaun and other districts of Madhya Pradesh. Arvind Gujjar became a dacoit in 1996 and now he wants to return to the mainstream by surrendering his arms," said Arun Pratap Singh, DIG, Madhya Pradesh. Arvind's gang included three women, his wife Sheela and two sisters-in-law also. Now all of them are willing to return to the social mainstream. "I only want to live a life of peace now, said Ganga Pandit, one of the surrendered dacoits. Police had been making efforts to nab the gang for years but failed. It is believed that Police could secure Gujjar's surrender due to negotiations not force. The gang used AK-47s, Self-loading rifles and mobile phones to operate.

     Over the decades, despite several hundred bandits surrendering before the law, the dacoits, who are armed with sophisticated weapons, are still active in the Chambal region, which in the 60s used to be a virtual death trap for security forces. The affected districts are Bhind, Shivpuri, Datia, Morena, Gwalior and Sheopur. Ganglords active in the region are Dayaram Gadaria, Nirbhay Singh Gujjar, Hazrat Rawat, Ramesh Jatav, Mewaram Jatav, Salim Gujjar, Dadua, Rajan Gujjar and Raghuvir Yadav. Chambal has been famous for its dreaded dacoits including bandit queen late Phoolan Devi who allegedly lined up and executed 22 landowners in one go and Malkhan Singh. Statistics show how, even after 57 years of Independence, the outlaws or baghis continue to rule the Chambal ravines and the forests nearby. Thirteen districts across Madhya Pradesh (MP), Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are affected by rural bandits. Six MP districts Gwalior, Shivpuri, Morena, Bhind, Datiya and Sheopur alone witnessed over 450 kidnappings in the past five years. And though about 400 dacoits have been killed over the last 15 years, the crime rate shows little signs of dipping.

Children flee juvenile home alleging maltreatment (Go To Top)

     Lucknow: At least 30 children fled a juvenile home here on Thursday alleging maltreatment by the authorities. Police have arrested three of the children who escaped by jumping the prison walls. The arrested children said, that they were denied basic facilities including food. "We had no clothes...No, we did not get food either," said Deepak, one of the arrested boys. Jaya Khadusi, Jail Superintendent, dismissed the allegations as baseless. "There were no atrocities. The children were being kept in detention and that is why they wanted to escape. It's natural for any being to defy any kind of restriction," said Khadusi. There are 63 destitute children detained in the juvenile home. Incidentally, this is the second such incident to have taken place this year. Last month children from another juvenile home escaped in Bhopal.

Seventeen killed in Baghdad mosque bombing (Go To Top)

     Baghdad: At least 17 people have been killed and dozens of others injured in twin suicide attacks on Shia Muslim mosques in Baghdad, Iraqi security sources say. In the deadliest blast, at least 15 worshippers are said to have died when a suicide bomber struck at prayer time. Security had been stepped up as Shias prepare to mark the holiest day of their calendar, the observance of the Ashura festival. It follows a period of relative calm in Iraq after regular insurgent attacks. The blasts came as talks were due to get under way among Iraqi political parties to form a new government following January's national poll, which saw Shia parties triumph. According to the BBC, in the first attack, a bomber mingled with worshippers at the packed mosque in southern Doura district before triggering the blast at about 1300 local time. "The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt at the Kazimain mosque in Abu Dishr near Doura," a police officer told foreign news agency.

---