|THE DEN|
Phoolan Devi
‘The queen of bandits’
Phoolan Devi, called as bandit queen, known for both her acts of revenge on those who had abused her and her Robin Hood- like activities to aid the lower castes. She was born into a poor family in rural Uttar Pradesh. For many she became the symbol of rebellion against the tyranny of the upper castes and elite against those who belong to lower castes. Her story begins with her abusive arranged marriage at the age of 11 to a man three times her age.
A year later, having been brutalized by him, she returned home. By the time she was in her early 20s, she had been kidnapped into a gang of dacoits where she was sexually assaulted numerous times and left barren, then become the mistress of a dacoit leader.
On February 14, 1981, Devi led a notorious act of revenge known as the Saint Valentine’s Day massacre where around 22 of Behmai’s Thakurs were rounded up and shot in retribution for her gang rape. Later, after serving 11 years in jail, she joined politics as a member of Samajwadi Party. In 2001, Devi was killed by masked assassins who opened fire on her outside her Bungalow in Delhi.
Daaku Maan Singh
Born in a Rajput family in Khera Rathore village in Chambal, Man Singh was a notorious dacoit of Chambal region. Between 1939 and 1955, he is believed to have committed 1,112 robberies and 185 murders, including the killing of 32 police officers. He headed a gang of 17, most of them his sons and brothers.
Man Singh has a temple after him in his ancestral village in Khera Rathore as he was one of the respectable bandits, who performed essential social services in hard times and adjudicated local issues. People say that he never looted innocents and respected women.
He was shot dead by Gurkha troops in 1955 while sitting under a banyan tree in Bhind, Madhya Pradesh.
Paan Singh Tomar
Paan Singh Tomar was an athlete and Indian Army soldier who later became ‘Rebel’. He was a seven-time national steeplechase champion and represented India at the 1958 Asian Games. He took premature retirement from the Army due to land disputes with his nephews.
As a consequence of no help from the government, he was forced to become a dacoit. After taking revenge from his enemies or relatives by killing them, Paan Singh declared himself a Baaghi, and the ravines of Chambal became the epicenter of his operations. Later, He started kidnapping influential people for ransom.
It is sad that a person who was against the violence, had to become a dacoit for justice. At the age of 49, Paan Singh Tomar was killed deceitfully after a gunfight, which lasted for more than twelve hours, with a team of Madhya Pradesh Police.
Veerappan
Wanted for approximately 184 people and poaching of more than 2000 elephants, Koose Munisamy Veerappan was an Indian bandit turned into domestic terrorist and kidnapped major politicians for ransom. He was born into a poor family of cattle grazers. He poached his first elephant at the age of 14 and committed his first murder at 17.
Later at the age of 18, he expanded poachers operations by joining them to include sandalwood and ivory smuggling, murder and abduction in the state of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
Veerappan was regularly used to kill anyone suspected of being a police informer. Because of political instability, he could easily escape from one state to another. In 1992, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments formed a special task force to catch Veerappan . He was finally killed by the Tamil Nadu state special task force on October 18, 2004 in an encounter.
Jagga Jatt
“jagga waddhia boharh di chhaven, nau man ret bhijj gai poorna, naeeaan ne waddh chhaddia jagga soorma.”
- Famous folklore
Jagat Singh Sidhu better known as Jagga Jatt or Jagga Daku, was a 20th-century heroic rebel of Punjab. He was born in 1902 in village of Burj Ran Singh in the Chunian tehsil of Kasur district in British Punjab to Sardar Makhan Singh and Mai Bhagan. Jagga's father passed away when he was only a small child. His father had owned 250 acres of land the ownership of which then passed to the young Jagga. He grew up as a pampered child by his mother and Uncle.
Jagga was of medium height, wheatish skin color, sharp features, strong body, trimmed beard, Kundhian Muchhan (ringed whiskers) and used to ride on horses.
He is known for robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. It is said that one day being angry about the police's behavior he snatched a rifle from a policeman at Kanganpur village and killed him.
From that day he became a bandit and started robbing at gunpoint, but he robbed only the rich to help the poor and needy and was called Robinhood of Punjab. Jagga was killed by treachery in 1932 at the very young age of 29 years.
Mohar Singh
Mohar Singh Gujjar was a former dacoit, bandit turned political leader. Ruling the Chambal ravines from 1958 to 1972, Mohar Singh was the last of a generation of bandit chieftains whose reign of terror still haunts the memories of locals. However, Villagers respected him for helping the poor. He was charged with 315 cases, out of which 85 were murder cases.
He had become a dacoit after murdering a man over a property dispute in the year 1955. In 1972, he surrendered along with his gang of over 150 dacoits. At the time of his surrender, as part of the negotiation, he was promised that he would not be given a death sentence and was kept in an open prison.
After serving eight years in prison, Mohar Singh was released in 1980 and entered into local politics. He even starred in a 1982 bollywood movie named, ‘Chambal ke Daku’, which marketed itself with a tagline; ‘first time real dacoits on screen’. He died on May 5, 2020 at the age of 92.
Malangi
‘Din nu raj Firangi da Raati raj Malangi da’ - Famous folklore
Malangi was a dacoit during the colonial occupation of Punjab, British India. Malangi waged his battle against corrupt government officials, feudal and interest seekers. He would rob the rich and powerful, and distribute their wealth to the poor and oppressed members of society. He also extended his support to the Babbar Akali Movement. Malangi was born in a muslim family in village Lakho of Kasur district. His father passed away when he was just six months old. Taking advantage of the situation, the feudal lord of the village usurped the land that rightfully belonged to Malangi.
When Malangi realized that his land had been appropriated by the landlords of his village, he fought to reclaim it. The landlords, who were British-appointed Lambardar managed to isolate Malangi in the local community after his marriage with a muslim woman, and in the reaction he became a dacoit for justice.
In 1927, Malangi was hanged for wrong charges by the British government. The person who betrayed Malangi by telling Britishers whereabouts of Malangi & gang, later was awarded with 3 murabba of land.
Chavviram Singh Yadav
One of the most dreaded bandits, Raghubir Singh Yadav better known as Chhavviram Singh Yadav was a resident of Auchha village in Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh. At the age of twenty, he became a dacoit. He had spread panic in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan by dacoity and murder. His gang was accused of killing an MLA and burying the dead body in the ground. He portrayed himself as the messiah of the Yadava people.
Villagers still recall him as ‘Messiah’, who also used to fight against women injustice. He also being recalled as the synonym of terror. At the behest of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan issued warrants against him.
In 1981 as a challenge, the then Chief Minister VP Singh made a plan to eliminate the dacoit Chhaviram and after two years on March 2, Station Officer B.B. Chaudhry of Ghiror village received a tip-off from an informant that Chhabiram was staying in that area. Then on March 3, 1983 Uttar Pradesh Police encountered the dacoit Chhaviram after a seven-and-a- half hour long battle.
Gabbar
The villainous 'Gabbar' played by Amjad Ali Khan in Sholay actually existed in Madhya Pradesh in the 1950s era. Gabbar Singh Gujjar or Gabbar alias Gabra was a dacoit active in the late 1950s in the Chambal valley of north-central India. Interestingly, this 'real' Gabbar was more dreadful than the 'reel' one. He had vowed to cut the noses of 116 people as one 'tantrik' had advised him of doing so to stay safe.
Gabbar Singh was born in 1926 in Dang village of Gohad Tehsil, Bhind district in the state of Madhya Pradesh. In 1955, Gabbar Singh left his house and village to join the Kalyan Singh gang of Bhind. Later, Gabbar formed his own gang between October and December 1956, then committed a series of murders and dacoities in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
He had the biggest reward on his head in 1959, however Gabbar had instilled so much fear that no one dared to leak any information regarding him. He died on November 13, 1959 in Jagannath-Ka-Pur village of Bhind district during a gunbattle with the police force.
Dadua
Shiv Kumar Patel or Dadua was a notorious dacoit who operated in ravines and forests on the borders between the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Dadua's first recorded instance of crime was the murdering of Jagannath on 16 May 1978 as the revenge of his father’s death. An hour later, the police arrested the young man who went on to become the most powerful and longest surviving dacoit Shiv Kumar Dadua.
This was the first and last time Dadua was arrested and it took 30 years for the police to script his nemesis in Elhar forests. He was credited with 200 dacoities, kidnappings and 150 murders. His reign of terror spread to entire from Chitrakoot to Jhansi and to Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.
Dadua thrived mainly on support of dominating Kurmi community and morphed himself into a kingmaker. He has been called as a revolutionary and Robinhood by people. His temple was built in 2016 in Dhata town. He was shot along with several gang members in a fight with Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh Police led by IPS officer Amitabh Yash in July 2007.