THE ROBBERS’ HILL
CHAMBAL
NOVELLA
By
Ravi Ranjan Goswami
© 2016 Ravi Ranjan Goswami
This story is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters, organizations, and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination.
Ravi Ranjan Goswami
To my father, Purushotta Das Goswami, and my mother, Bhagavati Devi Goswami
Translated and adapted from the Hindi short story “Lutheran ka Teela” by the same author.
INTRODUCTION
This is a story about the survival and love in one of the most dreaded terrains of India along the river Chambal.
The Robbers’ Hill is an imaginary village in the Chambal area, inhabited by Dacoits. But these Dacoits are different.
1
A DESIRE TO SEE PHOOLAN DEVI
It was the first day of December 1982 in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. The harsh winter was sweeping over north India. My close friend Rajesh and I were heading towards the Elite cinema hall around 2:30 p.m. I was sitting on the rear carrier of his bicycle. Rajesh was pedaling hard to reach there in time for the matinee show. We were teenagers then.
The weather was cold, but we were sweating as we were over-dressed for that sunny afternoon. Another reason was our excitement. We had dared to go to watch a movie in the same cinema hall where the notorious and dreaded bandit queen Phoolan Devi was also set to come to view Namak Halal starring Amitabh Bachchan.
After the massacre at Bahmai, a village located in Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh, by bandit queen Phoolan Devi and until her surrender to the authorities, several times we had heard all sorts of rumors about her. That day we had heard that Phoolan Devi, dressed in a burqa, was coming to the Elite cinema to watch the movie.
As we crossed Rani Lakshmibai Park, the statue of Jawaharlal Nehru, installed at the Elite junction, could be seen. In a few minutes, we reached the theater.
There was a long queue at the ticket window and there were a few burqa-clad women standing in the queue. As we were about to join the queue, a police Jeep stopped near the entrance. These were not uncommon, but for us, that day every burqa-clad lady was a suspected Phoolan Devi and the police presence also seemed to be because of her.
We had read stories in newspapers about police encounters with the outlaws. We genuinely feared from getting caught in the crossfire between the police and the bandit queen. Rajesh suggested going for some other movie. I agreed readily. We changed our plan and went to another theater that day.
Phoolan Devi surrendered in February 1983. After she surrendered, the rumors stopped. Now people were more curious to know about her life. I too wanted to see her, as the media had always added adjectives like “Dacoit beauty” or “bandit queen” before her name. After Phoolan Devi surrendered, her photograph appeared in newspapers. She looked very young and thin, dressed in a pair of pants and a shirt with a scarf tied around her forehead, holding a rifle in one hand. She looked like a normal young woman, but for her attire and gun.
I found it fascinating that such a small, scrawny woman had allegedly killed 20 men to avenge her dishonor by them. After the Phoolan Devi’s surrender, there was peace in the Chambal region for a few months.
Later, fresh struggles started among different Dacoit gangs in a bid to establish their domination in the Chambal ravines and the surrounding area. With her surrender, Phoolan Devi had attracted the attention of the national and international media and had received support from some political and social groups, who considered her a victim of oppression by the upper castes. Seeing the fame, facilities, and political support extended to Phoolan Devi, a few Dacoits started thinking of surrendering, but not before committing a crime as big as that done allegedly by Phoolan Devi. They had their own interpretation of the things witnessed by them.
2
BECOMING A POLICE OFFICER
Seven years later-
After obtaining my Bachelor of Science degree, I appeared for the UPSC examinations. In my second attempt, I was selected for the Indian Police Service (IPS).
After my training, I got my first posting as assistant police superintendent at Gwalior. I had not expected to be posted so close to my hometown, Jhansi. I was happy, but my family members were not very happy as I was attached to the Dacoit eradication program of the Chambal region.
The ravines of Chambal, spread over three states, namely, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, were known as the playground for the most notorious Dacoits of India.
My family started pushing me to sit for the UPSC examinations once again, and try for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), considered several notches above the IPS. Actually, I too would have liked an IAS officer’s job, but I was not sure that I would be able to find adequate time to prepare for the examination. However, I was excited about the challenges of my current job.
As a kid, I had heard various tales of the Dacoits. These tales depicted the Dacoits as brave, rebellious, and compassionate towards the hapless. Later, I read that in earlier times simple villagers had rebelled against the exploitative zamindars and other upper-class people. They were called as Baaghis or rebels. Soon, people started calling them Dacoits.
The Dacoits or bandits of Chambal area still preferred to call themselves Baaghis instead of the Dacoits. Stories about the cruelty and ruthlessness of some Dacoits also spread, adding to their notoriety.
I took over as ASP at Gwalior, but before my career really took off, I had my first encounter with the Dacoits in a bizarre way.
3
GOING IN A BARAT
It was only a week since I had arrived in Gwalior.
Seth Girdhari’s house was bustling with preparations for the marriage of his eldest son, Ramesh, which was to be solemnized at the bride’s house in Morena. The bride, Ragini, was the daughter of a rich businessman in Morena. Seth Girdhari had booked a luxury bus for the Barat (wedding party) comprising his relatives and friends who would be going to Morena to attend the wedding.
Seth Girdhari had given his younger brother Krishna Gopal and younger son Suresh the responsibility of welcoming and looking after the guests. The Barat was to leave for Morena the next day. But Seth Girdhariwas tense. He was anxiously waiting for Jimmy’s return. Jimmy was the trusted employee of Seth Gopinath, who was a close friend of Seth Girdhari.
Jimmy had been assigned the job of procuring gold ornaments worth ten lakh rupees. These ornaments were meant to be displayed and given to the bride at the time of marriage. Finally, Jimmy arrived and Seth Girdhari relaxed.
The following day at noon the bus set out for Morena. As per local practice as well as for the safety of the guests, two gunmen also accompanied the marriage party. These gunmen were not any hired professionals. They were relatives of Seth Girdhari. There were around fifty people, including a few children in the Barat. I was also among them. Ramesh was my former schoolmate and friend. He had invited me to his marriage and insisted that I join his Barat.
4
BREAK IN JOURNEY
Ramesh, the bridegroom, and one of his friends were seated just behind the driver. Seth Girdhari and Seth Gopinath occupied the front seats on the left side of the driver. One gunman sat on top of the bus in the midst of the luggage of the members of the marriage party. The second gunman occupied the seat near the front door of the bus. I sat behind this gunman. The younger guests, including the children, preferred to occupy the rear section of the bus. After some time, they started playing Antyakshary (a game where each participant has to sing a song starting with the last word of the previous song). Everyone was in a happy mood. This journey was not supposed to be long. It was only about 40 km and the bus could reach Morena in an hour or so. But this journey was destined to be longer.
We must have traveled for about 20km when the one of the rear tires had a puncture.
The driver and his assistant brought down a spare wheel from the bus and started to replace the punctured wheel. Everyone got down from the bus. A few individuals went to the nearby bushes to relieve themselves. There were wild thorny bushes, plum, Asian- ebony and tamarind trees. A few kids started throwing pebbles at the tamarind tree and collected the fruit. Some of them plucked plums and filled their pockets to enjoy them later, on the bus.
In about half an hour the bus was ready to move. We all got into the bus and occupied our respective seats. Once more, we started with the mandatory invocations to the gods.
The driver started playing popular film tracks on the stereo. Young men and children started swaying and dancing to the music. Suddenly, the bus started shaking. It was crossing a pothole patch of the road. All the passengers held on tightly to their seats. Outside, a brilliant sun shone. Seth Girdhari sighted a big mango tree ahead. He told the driver to stop near that tree. The driver stopped the bus under the shade of the tree. Seth Girdhari asked Suresh to distribute soft drinks to everyone in the bus. Suresh and a few other boys took out Coca-Cola and Fanta bottles from a freezer box kept in the front part of the bus and handed these to the passengers. Water cans were also kept on the bus, but because of the hot weather most of the people carried plastic water bottles or thermos flasks filled with water. We were supposed to reach our destination by lunch time. The bride’s party was expected to arrange for our boarding and lodging. So we did not carry any food with us except for some fruits and biscuits for the children. These were now distributed among all the passengers.
Soon we started again on our journey.
5
THE ROBBERS’ HILl
Away from the gang rivalry, politics, and bloodshed that prevailed in the main Chambal area, in one corner of the Chambal region itself, was a village named Robbers’ Hill. Kailash Pandey lived there. The twenty-year-old young man looked like any other young man. He was five feet eight inches tall, fair, and had a well-built body. He was not educated, but he had learned how to read and write Hindi. Kidnapping for ransom was his profession. Since childhood, he has grown up seeing his father doing it. His father, Ram Ratan Pandey, had successfully run this business for more than two decades. Kailash was the only child of his parents. Two years ago, the senior Pandey had handed over the reins of his gang to his son Kailash. Pandey was a devotee of God Hanuman and he had constructed a small Hanuman temple in the village. Now most of his time was spent at the temple.
Many of the old Dacoits often assembled at the temple and shared their tales of adventures. There were twenty-five families and the total population might be close to one hundred. It was alleged that they were descendants of rebels who had initially revolted against their exploitative landlords and had taken up the gun. Some rebels had even fought against the British.
A new generation had come of age along with Kailash and the youth of that village, like him, had adopted robbery and kidnapping as their profession.
Kailash's father, Ram Ratan Pandey, was head of the village. He was also called Bhagatji.
Bhagatji had certain special qualities. Unlike other notorious Dacoit Sardars, he was always sympathetic and helpful towards the poor and had deep respect for women. He always maintained friendly relations with police officials and politicians. Bhagatji had the most unlikely quality for a Dacoit; he did not believe in unnecessary violence.
The people of the village had great respect and loyalty for him. Though kidnapping and ransom had been his main vocation, he had never been arrested in his career spanning twenty years. Kailash had also inherited some of his father’s characteristics. Kailash had been participating in the robbery and kidnapping operations of his father for quite some time, so when his father decided to step down and retire and hand over the reins to him, Kailash did not face any opposition. He was strong and smart, so he was easily accepted as the gang leader.
6
BANDITS PLAN TO KIDNAP
That day, one of Kailash’s informers, Nanhebarbar, had reported that the next day a wedding procession would be traveling from Gwalior to Morena for the wedding of a rich man's son. Kailash knew it was not an easy task to loot a Barat. After all, the wedding party would have a lot of people and a few gunmen too, for security purposes.
Kailash summoned his gang. There were twenty members of his gang. They were of different heights, weights, ages, and temperament. But they had one thing in common which kept them together and that was their faithfulness to Bhagatji and his son Kailash. All elderly members of the gang had earlier worked with Bhagatji, and those who were younger had been helped by him in some or the other time. In an hour’s time, the gang gathered on the terrace of Kailash’s house.
After the customary exchange of courtesies, Kailash, Ramu, Bhola, Dhakkan, Shakti Singh and other members of the gang sat down on the terrace. Bhola took out a small cloth sack from his pocket. From that, he took a small tube filled with lime. That sack contained tobacco also. He poured some tobacco on his left palm. Then he squeezed the lime tube and took a small amount of lime with his index finger and mixed it with the tobacco. He further finely mixed the tobacco and lime by rubbing the mixture against his left palm with his right thumb for about half a minute. Then he presented this to the people sitting near him. They took small amounts of this tobacco and kept it in their mouths. To the people sitting at a distance, the tobacco pouch and lime were passed over so that they could prepare their own doses of tobacco. Some people lighted beedis and cigarettes. Kailash neither chewed tobacco nor smoked.
Shakti Singh had come straight from the country liquor shack. He was a bit drunk. So when all were waiting for their leader Kailash to speak, he shot out a question.“What is the matter today?" he shouted.
Kailash said,“Nanhe barber has informed me that tomorrow afternoon a very rich man’s wedding party will be going from Gwalior to Morena by bus. If we loot or hijack that bus we can get so much booty that we can live for a year without doing any work.”
Uncle Sivan cautioned, “Looting or hijacking the bus is not an easy task as there will be many people on the bus and also there may be armed security with the marriage party. I have also heard a special police force has been deployed in the area to look after us.”The last sentence was meant to infuse a little humor to the conversation though he had heard right. Sivan was a senior member of the gang, and the younger members of the gang addressed him as an uncle. He suggested that they consult Bhagatji too.
They all then proceeded to Bhagatji’s Hanuman temple to seek his advice.
Sivan told him the situation and asked his opinion.
Bhagatji said, “Don’t take many risks by trying to rob the bus in broad daylight. I guess kidnapping a few people from the wedding bus will be easier and will bring a very good ransom.”
Shakti Singh had an idea.
“I think we should attack the bus on its return trip as at that time the new bride will also be in the wedding party. Then, we can kidnap the bride as well. Besides ransom, the bride's gold ornaments worth lakhs of rupees would be our bonus,” he said.
Bhagatji said, “No. Not the bride.”
Bhagatji always honored women. He had never kidnapped a woman. It was the topmost ideal of the Robbers’ Hill village to respect women. Kailash followed his father thoroughly in this matter. Even Bhagatji had fought against other gangs to free kidnapped women. He never refused to raise a gun to save the honor of a woman.
7
DIFFERENT WORLDS
It’s a fact that at any one moment, every member of a household may be living in a different world in their minds. Each person’s world is created by his own ideas, experiences and personal conditions. I wondered how many worlds would be out there on that bus at that point of time. In the midst of much happiness and exhilaration about the anticipated wedding, each one in the marriage party would occasionally step back inadvertently into their personal world.
I assumed Ramesh would be thinking about his wife-to-be and his honeymoon and must be feeling happy. I imagined his world to be colorful at that time. Perhaps the priest was thinking about receiving a handsome amount for conducting the wedding. Seth Gopichand might be thinking about some past or future business.
Children had their own world. They were enjoying the festivity in the air.
Generally, I have complaints about drivers who drove fast, but I felt the driver of this bus drove quite slowly. We ought to have reached Morena by now, but were still a few kilometers away.
Finally, we reached Morena. We were put up in a good hotel. After lunch, we rested for the day. The late evening wedding procession was led to the bride’s house with a special music band and bright lights. Like a prince the bridegroom rode on a horse to the bride’s house. The marriage was solemnized at night. We enjoyed the hospitality of the bride’s family. The next day we had to return.
8
TRAP BY ROBBERS
The next day as the bus started on its return journey, Kailash and his gang reached the road by which the bus was about to come and waited at a suitable spot in two Jeeps. Some people came on motorcycles. It was probably done to leave room in the Jeeps to carry the hostages. Kailash was in a police inspector’s uniform. The rest were wearing the uniforms of constables and Jawans. Some of them carried.303 rifles. A few others had shotguns and pistols while Kailash had a revolver with him. The Jeeps had also been painted to look like police Jeeps. According to Nanhe’s information, the bus was expected to reach that spot between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., but Indian marriages are so elaborate that it is very difficult to maintain a fixed schedule.
Each member of the gang had been told about his role. The gang's topmost priority was to first overpower the two gunmen escorting the wedding party.
Meanwhile, a few passenger buses and tempos passed in both directions. Nanhe climbed a neem tree to spot the target in advance. At about 11:45 a.m. he spotted a green deluxe bus coming in their direction. That was the targeted bus. Nanhe blew a whistle and quickly got down from the tree. Kailash signaled the driver of a Jeep. The driver immediately pulled up the Jeep and parked it across the road, barring the way. Just like a police party, they stood in the way and waved their hands to stop the bus. The driver applied the brakes and stopped the bus with a jolt. People looked out to see what had happened. When they saw a police party out there they relaxed thinking this was going to be a routine check by the police.
Kailash and Bhure went to the driver and asked him to show his driving license.
Lachha and Ghanshyam commanded the gunman sitting atop the bus to climb down. He obeyed instantly. They took his gun as if to examine it and shot out a question, “Is it yours? Do you have a license?”
At the same time, Shakti Singh and Goli shouted at the gunman sitting inside the bus, near the entrance, and asked him in an authoritative tone to get off the bus. He also obeyed. They snatched his gun. Only hardcore criminals may dare to disobey or resist the police. The common man generally cooperates with the police, though often because of fear.
All of a sudden my eyes caught something strange about these police personnel. They were wearing shoes of different kinds and those were not the prescribed police uniform shoes.
“Oh God,” I thought desperately and shouted, “They are not policemen. They are Dacoits.”
But by then it was too late. The guns were pointed at the disarmed gunmen. The rest of the armed robbers barged into the bus. They threatened us and ordered us to get down the bus. We followed their orders. There was no choice. We were lined up on one side of the road with our backs toward them. The bride and groom stood together at one side. The bride was clutching the sleeve of the bridegroom out of fright. We were all profusely sweating. I wished I had a revolver with me at that time. But like the other passengers I too stood quietly.
A robber went to the bride. He ordered her to remove the jewelry. The bride looked a little hesitatingly towards her husband. The bridegroom nodded. The bride started removing her jewelry. The robber was a bit drunk and impatient. He grabbed the bride’s hand and started taking off the gold bangles with force. The groom could not contain himself and caught hold of the robber. The robber was already a bit drunk. The touch of a young woman had a multiplier effect on his state of intoxication. So when the bridegroom resisted, he felt disturbed and angry. He pushed hard at the groom and pointed his gun at him. The bride came between her husband and the robber and pleaded with the robber not to shoot her husband. She started removing her jewelry fast and passing them over to the robber. To remove the necklace she raised both her hands and tried to unhook it at the back of her neck. As she raised her hands, her breasts moved up and looked rounder and fuller. The robber could not control himself and he set his palms on her blouse. The bride shrieked. I heard somebody shout in a threatening voice, “Shaktiiiiiii!” The robber, Shakti, immediately withdrew his hands. The bride removed the necklace, the last ornament on her person and handed it over to the robber. He kept all the jewelry in the pocket of his trousers and immediately left. The man who had shouted at him was the gang leader Kailash.
The Dacoits were in a hurry. They had to finish their operation before anybody came. They stuffed as many passengers as possible inside the Jeeps. Unfortunately, I was also included in that group. They then fired three shots into the air and drove the Jeeps off the main road onto a dirt track and vanished shortly into the jungle.
The Dacoits had disappeared, but the people left behind were still scared. Everyone sat down quickly inside the bus. The driver raced the bus towards Gwalior.
9
BRIDE ARRIVES WITHOUT BRIDEGROOM
The driver took the bus straight to the house of Girdhari Seth and parked it in front of the house.
After the Barat had left for Morena, the women of the house had been enjoying themselves with traditional music, songs and gimmicks waiting for the newly-wedded couple to arrive. On seeing the bus, Ramesh's mother and other women came to the door with a plate containing a lighted earthen lamp, turmeric paste and grains of rice to welcome the newlywed couple. Some young women went running over to the bus to escort the new bride. The new bride had covered her face with a veil as she was supposed to do according to local traditions. The young ladies helped her get off the bus and escorted her to the entrance of the house where the other women of the house were waiting to welcome her. Ramesh’s mother was surprised at not seeing Ramesh with the bride. Then she noticed the bride’s wrists were bare and she was not wearing any jewelry. She was quite shocked. She understood something very bad had happened indeed.
The bride came to her and started crying. Ramesh’s mother hugged her and asked what had happened. The bride did not answer but continued to weep.
The rest of the wedding party then explained how they had been attacked by the bandits and that Ramesh, along with a few others, had been taken away by the robbers. Hearing this Ramesh’s mother and the other women also started weeping.
It took some time for everyone to collect themselves and then they gathered in a large room of the house to discuss how to get the hostages freed. Ramesh’s old grandfather, who could not go with the Barat, was also present there. They realized that the purpose of the kidnapping was to collect money and decided to wait for the ransom demand. Everybody was afraid to seek the assistance of the police. They felt that informing the police might put the lives of the hostages in danger. Some people suggested seeking the help of a local political leader. Everyone readily supported this suggestion. But then someone said that the politician had gone to a foreign destination and would be back only after a week.
Again, gloom enveloped all. Finally, it was decided that they would wait for the ransom call.
10
CAPTIVES IN A ROOM
The Jeeps kept on moving for a while. After reaching a comfortable distance from the main road, they stopped at one place. Here our eyes were covered with black straps by the Dacoits. Then again the Jeeps started moving towards an unknown destination. The Jeep in which I was traveling was occupied by four boys aged 6 to 12 years besides Ramesh. The other Jeep was carrying Seth Gopichand and a few other persons unfamiliar to me. We had been ordered to stay quiet. So we were traveling silently. Listening to the sound made by the Jeep’s engine, I could guess when we were passing through rugged ravines and mud hills and when we were running through open terrain.
On the way, at one place I heard the sound of water flow and the air too felt a bit cold. We were probably passing by the river or a pond. Our Jeep stopped suddenly. From this location, we took a half circular turn to the right and continued our journey.
After about half an hour the Jeeps stopped. The robbers helped us to get down from the Jeeps and then took us into a house. There, our straps were removed and we looked around in fear.
The kidnappers warned us that if anyone attempted to escape, the consequences would be very bad. Then they gave us a blank paper and a pen and asked us to write our names, addresses, and occupations. I asked everybody their details and wrote them down. I did not write my correct occupation, instead, I wrote my profession as a gym instructor and gave that paper to them. Then they went out and the room was locked from outside.
By the sound of their footsteps and the sound of the Jeep’s engine, we realized that they were going somewhere.
We looked at each other and started taking stock of our tiny prison. The room was very old and in a poor condition. The plaster was peeling off the walls and ceiling. An old rusty fan was hanging from the ceiling. There were spider webs in the corners of the room. There was only one door. There were two windows and two other small windows high up in the wall. The two windows were closed; light and air were entering the room through the small ventilators.
Ramesh looked at me and said, “Ranjan, had you been spared we would have had a better chance of survival and early freedom.” Probably he thought that being a police officer I could have taken some suitable and fast action to free them from the Dacoits.
Then he introduced me to the rest. I already knew Ramesh’s father. Among others were Radhelal, a teacher, and the children of Ramesh’s maternal uncle from Benares. Radhelal was a friend of Ramesh's father and taught English at a prestigious school in Gwalior. There were three relatives of Ramesh named Munnalal, Pritam, and Kallu. The other names I cannot remember.
I requested them not to disclose to the bandits that I was a police officer as that might put all of us in even more danger.
We were 10-12 people squeezed into the small room. We were feeling suffocated and hot. There was a small hole in the wooden door. I peeked through it. I could see nothing but the ground and some thorny shrubs. I guessed that someone was guarding us, but I could not see anyone through the hole. It was 4 p.m. There was still enough sunlight.
The room had a bulb holder which was holding a dirt ridden bulb. I found a switchboard with two switches next to the door. I switched them on. The fan started running with a thud and the bulb got lit. I switched off the bulb. The greatest relief was when we saw a large clay pitcher filled with water and a plastic mug standing at the corner. We were all thirsty. We drank water from the pitcher and waited wearily.
The floor was not clean, but I sat on the floor, resting my back against a wall. I saw everyone sitting down. Children were distraught, frightened and weary. The youngest child lay down on the ground. In a little while, some of us were reclining against the walls and a few were sitting on the ground. Intense anxiety could be seen on everyone’s face. Ramesh was still in his groom's attire. Only the turban was not on his head. He had removed the turban and had kept it on the bus. Ramesh was especially concerned about his father. He was suffering from cardiovascular problems. So when somebody said we could run away when the kidnappers were not around, Ramesh opposed it. I too did not support the idea. We did not know where we were at that time. Also, I believed that we had been kept under watch. It seemed to me that we had been kidnapped by a large and dangerous gang. Holding so many people captive together could not be the work of any ordinary gang. We rejected the idea of breaking the door and escaping. All of us fell silent. Perhaps everyone was trying to come up with solutions. I noticed the children were too quiet. The little boy was asleep, lying supine. I was trying to recollect what I had read in an office file which had the profiles of past and currently active major bandits and the gangs of Gwalior, Morena, Dholpur and surrounding Chambal area. If I could get an idea of where we had been kept, I could probably figure out which gang had captured us.
I looked at my wristwatch. It was nearly 6 p.m. Suddenly, the silence was broken by the chugging sound of a train passing. We were all startled. I tried to open the windows. The windows were jammed but opened when I pushed them hard. Through the window on one side, we could see a railway track nearby. Now it appeared that the room was some old, abandoned railway office. The room might be for a railway employee. The gang had used this abandoned room in a secluded area to hide us.
I thought that if we could run along the railway line, we would reach a railway station where we could get all the necessary help. But I did not know how far away would be that place.
The little boy sat up suddenly and began to cry. Ramesh consoled him. His brothers also tried to console him. He stopped crying. Now the room had become a bit dark. I turned on the light. The room was filled with enough light.
The little boy was hungry and so were the others. I felt very helpless. I did not know if we would get food. However, I bravely said, "We will get food”. I was worried as I had heard that some gangs kept their prisoners hungry so that they became weak and vulnerable and could not run away.
I prayed to God to give us, especially the children, something to eat.
At around 8 p.m., we heard some voices outside the room. Then there came the sound of the lock turning. The next moment the door was opened with a bang. There appeared two gunmen who had big mustaches and beards. They looked ferocious. They entered the room. One of them had a parcel in his hands. He kept the parcel on the floor and said, "Here is food”.
The other one spoke up. "If you want to piss or shit you can go out. For washing up, there is a pond nearby. Don’t try to escape. If anybody tries to run away, we will shoot," he warned.
We had been confined to the room for many hours. All of us wanted to step out. All of us stood up. Then he said, "Two persons go at a time”. We did that.
A man stood at the door of the room. The other monitored us outside.
Two by two people went outside. I went out together with Ramesh. In the bushes near the pond, I casually stood looking around. I was able to see because of the moonlight. The area around had sand, dry grass and barren land and nothing else. Far away, I could see a cluster of large and dense trees. Ramesh was waiting for me. Lest the kidnappers suspected anything, we quickly returned to the room.
The food packet was opened. It contained many Rotis, enough dry cooked vegetables, and raw onions. We shared the food. As we were famished, the food tasted good. We washed our hands and drank cold water from the earthen pitcher.
It appeared that the food had been brought from someone's house. So we were relieved to see a little humanity in these bandits. We had heard stories of their brutality and cruelty also.
After dinner, the door was again locked from outside.
11
LETTER FOR RANSOM
The next day a letter was brought to Ramesh's house by a young boy who lived in the vicinity. This letter was given to him by a strange man, who had told him to give it to someone in the house. He handed the letter to Ramesh's mother. It contained the list of the names of the kidnapped persons and an amount was written next to each name. At the bottom of the list was a warning, "Free your people by paying the amount and if the matter is reported to the police, the consequences will be bad."
Ramesh's mother handed over the letter to her father-in-law. The letter was read by everyone present there. Everyone was concerned.
The letter, written in a rough hand, read:
Seth,
Your people are in our possession. They will be freed for the following ransoms.
Seth Gopichand - Ten lakh
Seth Girdhari -Ten lakh
Ramesh- Ten lakh
Two lakh for four children
Radhelal master- Two lakh
Rajan, Munnalal, Pritam, Ranjan and Kallu-One and a half lakh each.
If the matter is reported to the police the consequences will be very bad and you'll be responsible for that. When you are ready with the money, hoist a green flag on your rooftop.
Yours
DASYU SARDAR
KAILASH PANDEY
The Kailash’s name was also stamped. The practice of applying a personal seal on the ransom letter was not new among the Dacoits of Chambal region. This showed the audacity of the gang leader. A seal made the letter look authentic and was taken seriously.
Consequently, people deposited the ransom money with Ramesh’s grandfather within two days.
A green flag was hoisted on the rooftop.
12
NEW HIDEOUT
At night, the restlessness of the children increased. They asked Ramesh, "When shall we go home?" Ramesh had no answer. I said, "We will sleep at night, right here. Perhaps tomorrow someone will come to take us.” I said this to prepare them to sleep there that night.
But because of the heat and the mosquitoes, none of us could sleep that night.
So we were not properly awake at five in the morning when the sound of stomping footsteps assailed our ears. In the next few seconds, the door opened and four gunmen with their faces covered with scarves entered the room. One of them asked everyone to stand up. We immediately stood up. They brought with them black cloth straps. They tied the straps over our eyes. We were helped out of the room and made to get into the Jeeps. We were being transferred to a new, unknown location. I guessed we were going towards the north, but soon I lost all sense of direction as the Jeeps took many twists and turns on the way.
13
TEMPLE OF KALI
Just outside Robbers’ Hill village, on a small hilltop, there was situated a temple of Goddess Kali. This was an important temple of the area, but according to local tradition, people would go to this temple to pray to the goddess to fulfill their special wishes. For this too, Friday was a fixed day. The rest of the week that place remained secluded and peaceful. However, during Navratri festival people could visit the temple all nine days and worship the Goddess.
That day was not Friday and Navratri was still away. As dusk approached, a sharp- featured, dusky, tall, and slim girl waited on the stairs of the temple. She had beautiful big black eyes and long black hair. Her name was Parvati. She was waiting for Kailash.
Parvati’s eyes were scanning the path to the temple for Kailash. But Kailash surprised her by coming from behind. He had climbed the hill from the back.
Parvati complained, "What took you so long?"
Taking a seat next to her, Kailash said, "Was stuck in something."
She asked, “Have you had a big catch? Have you kidnapped a Barat party?"
Kailash asked, "How do you know?"
“Shakti Singh came drunk to my house yesterday. He told my mother about this. He was saying that this time your gang has looted a Barat and kidnapped many rich people. A big ransom has been demanded. Everybody will be getting a big amount. He even asked my mother to wed me to him.”
Kailash muttered, "The addict will himself die and get us killed too.”
Kailash felt a sense of anger within him.
He asked Parvati casually, "Whom will you marry? Shakti Singh, or me?"
Parvati got up and looking at Kailash, retorted, “I will not marry any robber.”
Saying this, she turned and briskly walked down the stairs. Kailash lay down and wondered why Parvati had made such a statement when she too belonged to a family of the Dacoits.
14
PARVATI AND HER MOTHER
Parvati and her mother had come from another village. Kailash's father had resettled them in his village. Parvati was the daughter of Sardar Thakur Singh, a bandit. She had two older brothers. Her father virtually ruled his village and its surrounding areas.
She was brought up among Dacoits. Robbers and their profession were not strange to her. And she had heard that the rich became rich by exploiting the poor, so looting the rich was no crime.
Her mother sometimes advised her husband and sons to surrender. She had heard that the government leniently treated the Dacoits who surrendered and even helped them in their rehabilitation after they had served their term in jail. But they did not listen to her.
One day her worst fear came true. In a police encounter, she lost her husband and two sons. Parvati was 15years old at that time. There was no male member left in the family. Some of the gang members who had never dared to speak to them earlier now looked at them with lust. Parvati had learned to use the gun and there was a gun in the house; so those Dacoits could not attack them easily. But there was a constant danger for mother and daughter and they were scared. Hence, they decided to leave the village.
One night they put their jewelry and cash in a cloth bundle and left their home. Parvati’s mother had put on a veil to hide her face. Parvati was wearing khaki pants and a shirt. She left her hair loose but tied a scarf covering her forehead to prevent her hair from falling over her eyes. She carried a loaded double barrel gun on her shoulder. They moved quickly towards the outskirts of the village. In those areas, it was normal to carry a gun, and nobody would find it strange.
Two traitors of Thakur Singh's gang saw them.
They wanted the money and jewelry Thakur Singh had left behind. They were sure that these women were carrying valuables in the bundle. The two started following them. Parvati and her mother had planned to reach the main road and board the first bus that came their way so as to flee from the area. Later they would decide on their next course of action. Parvati had an uncle at Dholpur. They would go there if they could.
They had to walk four miles to reach the bus route. Suddenly Parvati realized that someone was following them. Parvati tightened her grip on the gun. She looked back. It was not difficult for her to understand that they were robbers. Parvati was aware that the robbers’ intentions were not good. She asked her mother to walk faster. When they increased their speed, the two bandits also began to walk faster. Parvati had seen that they carried guns. Parvati removed the gun from her shoulder and took the gun in her left hand. Parvati had decided what to do. She told her mother that just ahead on the right side there had been a mango grove. They had to run towards that when they reached there. She further told her mother to walk slowly.
They started walking slowly. They had reached almost an isolated place. Perhaps the robbers were waiting for this opportunity. They overtook them and blocked their way.
One of them said to Parvati’s mother, "Where are you going, sister-in-law, like this?"
Another said, "Go if you wish. Leave the bundle and the girl with us."
Hearing this Parvati’s mother flew into a rage. She removed her veil, shielded Parvati and challenged the Dacoits, “Don’t dare come near my daughter, I will cut you into pieces,” she said bravely.
Parvati snatched the bundle from the mother and threw it flying over their heads. The two robbers looked back in the direction of the bundle automatically. With her left hand, Parvati raised the gun with lightning speed to her right shoulder and shot at the hip of the robber, who stood in front of her. He fell forward with a shriek.
The second robber instantly turned and took off his shoulder gun, but Parvati did not allow him a second and shot him in his stomach. He held his stomach and fell to the ground groaning.
Parvati grabbed her mother's hand and ran towards the mango trees. They stopped to rest for a while. It was almost dark. Once in a while, the moonlight filtered in through the trees.
They discarded the idea of going to the main road. After Parvati shot the two bandits, they were afraid of coming across any police patrol party. On the other side of the mango orchard, there was an arid and rugged land spread over a wide area. They knew that three miles south of that place there was a temple of Kali Devi and on the other side of that hill was the village called Robbers’ Hill. They had visited the Kali Devi temple during Navratri festival. They had heard about the reputation of former Dacoit Bhagatji.
Parvati's mother said to her, "Where shall we go during the night? I think we should go to Bhagatji’s temple."Parvati had shot two robbers to save her honor, but she too was scared now. She agreed with her mother.
About two hours later, they showed up at the Hanuman temple outside village Robbers’Hill. Bhagatji was there at that time. They told him the calamity that had fallen on them.
Bhagatji gave them shelter in the village and made arrangements for their stay. They felt safe here. They decided to settle down there.
Selling some of the jewelry, they made a two-room house and bought a small piece of farmland, where they started cultivating vegetables for a living.
A few months later, they came to know that the bandits shot by Parvatihad had not died that night. It was only much later that they were killed in an encounter with the police. Both the mother and daughter were relieved.
Robbers’ Hill and its surrounding area were extremely safe for women.
In the last two decades, there had been no incident of molestation or rape in and around the village. People in the region both feared and respected Bhagatji.
There lived two eunuchs in the village. There was a fable in the village that years ago these eunuchs were men who had sexually assaulted a local woman. Bhagatji punished them. Since then they had been like this.
15
NEW LOCATION
I had stopped trying to identify where we were being held.
It was of no use as I did not know the geography of the region, though a few years later, as part of my duty I covered every inch of Chambal territory terrorized by the bandits. Based on my experiences, I can say that Kailash and Bhagat were gentlemen bandits.
After some time, the Jeeps stopped. We were taken to a new place, and the straps over our eyes were removed.
We had come here after spending the night in a dirty and congested room. This place was paradise. It was a small garden or rather a small farmhouse with fruit trees, flower beds, and lawns. There were two rooms on one side. The garden was surrounded by a high wall. There was one big, iron gate through which we had entered.
One robber said, “There are a cooking stove, kitchen utensils, provisions and water inside. Prepare Dal and Rotis for lunch. Five or six of our people will also eat so prepare some extra food.”
They went out and locked the gate. Now the big question was who would cook the food.
Thankfully, they had asked us to prepare Dal and Rotiss only, but we were afraid how they would react if the food was not to their taste. Finally, the teacher and I took up the responsibility of cooking. The teacher was an experienced cook. Cooking Dal did not need much effort, but making about hundred Rotis for twenty people took considerable time.
We felt hungry but did not dare to eat without the permission of the bandits. We waited for them.
At about 12:30 p.m. the gate was opened and six musclemen came inside. We took a while to recognize them. We had seen them earlier in police uniforms.
16
A NEWSPAPER CUTTING
Among them was a young man wearing a white Kurta-pajama. We recognized him. He had put on the police inspector’s uniform that day when they had abducted us and was the gang leader.
He told us, "I am Kailash Pandey. We will keep you in comfort. Do not try to escape. As soon as we receive the ransom we will free you guys."
We did not know how much ransom had been sought to leave us. We didn’t dare to ask also.
He asked for food. He sat down on the lawn along with the other bandits. We served them food and water. Plates, bowls, and glasses were available in sufficient numbers. Kailash surprised us when, after the meal he told two of his companions to help us wash the dishes and to serve us food. We then had our food.
He further surprised us when he asked the children, their names and in which class they were studying.
Seeing that Kailash was relaxed, Seth Girdhari requested him to free his son Ramesh so that he could arrange the ransom early. Kailash did not give any answer.
He suddenly asked us, “Who is the teacher among you?” We were startled. Teacher Radhelal raised his hand and said, "I am the teacher."
"Do you know English?" asked Kailash.
Radhey Lal said, "I am a teacher of English."
Kailash eyes were sparkling.
He called the master near him and respectfully made him sit next to him. Kailash then pulled out a paper from his Kurta pocket. It was a cutting from an old English newspaper. Kailash gave that to the teacher and said, "I found this cutting in an old box lying in a corner of my house. This is a photograph of my grandfather from his younger days. I cannot read English. Please read this for me."
I thought many of us here knew English, but he had asked a teacher to read the paper. I concluded that he had a sense of respect for teachers and was more confident about them.
Teacher Radhelal read it for a while to himself. Kailash watched his face.
Then the teacher started reading aloud, "June 30, 1920, Gwalior, Ramtirath Pandey, a Dacoit, who, along with the organization of the Dacoits of the Chambal region Shivaji Committee waged a guerrilla war against the British for the last eight years, has been killed in a police encounter. He carried an award of Rs20, 000 on his head. However, the native population considers and respects him as a martyr.” Kailash became serious after hearing this. He thanked the teacher and went out with his partners. The gate was locked again.
17
MY ESCAPE
When they departed, we all sat down under the shade of a mango tree. In the afternoon sun and heat, the cool shade of the tree was very comfortable. While everyone was resting I was wondering whether I should wait quietly for the ransom to come or try for the release of the captives. I did not want to put these people in danger. But how could I, a police officer, not do anything?
My eyes fell on a branch of a tree which went over the wall to the outside world. That seemed a fine instrument for escaping. I decided to escape and run to a nearby police station and bring help. I told my plan to the group. A few tried to dissuade me; the rest were undecided. I made up my mind.
I went up the tree and reached the wall crawling on that branch. Hidden by the leaves, I looked outside the boundary wall.
There were some thorny bushes, plum trees and sand dunes and some rocks here and there. A few hundred meters away a river was flowing.
I knew armed guards were at the gate, which was not visible from that point. I did not know if anyone was watching around the boundary wall. But I decided to take a risk. The raw, muddy ground below was suitable for jumping. It would not produce much sound and there was a smaller chance of getting injured.
I crawled a little further on the branch, hung myself from it, lowering my legs. Thus, the distance between my feet and the ground below was reduced. Then I let go of the branch of the tree and landed on the ground.
I remained crouched there for a while waiting to hear any movement around. Nobody came around. I raced to the river. The river was in spate and the current was fast, but I had no option. I jumped into the river and left myself to the mercy of its current, which swept me several meters along with it in a few seconds. Then I started swimming across the river with my full might.
I wanted to escape and reach a safe place. I could hear the firing sound of the guns coming from behind. Perhaps the armed guard had seen me running away. I looked up ahead and guessed that I had to cover half a mile to reach the other bank of the river.
I started swimming hard to reach the other side of the river faster. Suddenly I felt myself heavy; then I realized what had happened. I had jumped into the water with all my clothes and shoes on.
But I continued to swim and in half an hour I was resting there in the sand along the opposite bank of the river, exhausted.
A few yards away from the bank there were a thick cluster of bushes. I stood up and ran to the bushes to hide myself. I did not know that place. It seemed that I was probably somewhere around Morena. I started walking in one direction. The foliage was dense here. I wanted to find a village or a person from whom I could ask the nearest police post or a police station.
Shortly I found a camp office of Madhya Pradesh police. It was a pleasant surprise for me. I introduce myself and told the whole story to the inspector there. He alerted his patrol boat, which was berthed at a short distance from there. He took a six-member police team. We went to the boat and boarded it. It was a motor boat. In the course of ten minutes we reached the other side.
Immediately on reaching there the little garden was surrounded by the police. It was surprising that there was no guard at the gate. The inspector asked me to remain behind and he, along with two armed policemen, carefully went to the gate.
He knocked loudly. An old man opened the gate. The inspector pointed his revolver and led us inside.
None of the hostages were present there. I was surprised. I was afraid that some harm had been done to them after I fled. The inspector opined that possibly the hostages had been shifted to a new hiding place. The old man, who opened the gate, was a gardener. On questioning, he said that two hours earlier everyone had left the place; he did not know where they had gone.
The gardener also informed us that the farmhouse belonged to a politician who lived in Gwalior city.
Police searched the two rooms there, but did not find any clue.
The police inspector instructed somebody at the camp office over the walkie-talkie to alert local police stations and search parties about this incident over the wireless.
18
HOSTAGES FREED
Kailash had never thought that the course of his life would change so fast.
Since the teacher had translated the substance of the English newspaper cutting he had been feeling restless. He had mixed feelings of pride and guilt. He was proud of his father who commanded so much respect in the Chambal region for his principled approach in his profession.
Knowing what his grandfather did in his lifetime had increased his pride in his lineage. He also felt a sort of compunction. He thought his father might be driven by some compulsions to lead the life of a Dacoit. What was his compulsion? Then he remembered what Parvati had said.
She had said, "I will not marry a robber."
Kailash decided to go home and tell his father his new resolution. Hearing his idea, his father was thoughtful for a few minutes.
Then he said, "Good. What I wished, but did not have the courage to do, you are going to do. Be happy."
His eyes had become moist as he said this.
Kailash told his mother that he had decided to change his way of life. She, too, had always wished the same. She was very happy.
Kailash touched the feet of his parents and quickly left the house.
Taking the Jeep he drove straight to the farmhouse. On seeing him, the guards came running to him and informed him that one of the hostages had jumped over the boundary wall and fled. They had given chase, but could not catch him. They feared that Kailash would be furious with them, but were surprised and happy when he did not say anything.
Kailash went inside. He ordered all the captives to move out and sit in the Jeep immediately. They did not understand anything but the order was followed. This time there was only one Jeep, but it was vacant. They all accommodated themselves in the Jeep. Kailash started the Jeep and soon they were driving fast along a new unknown Kucha road. Soon they reached the main road. Kailash stopped the Jeep and told everyone to get down. All were surprised. Kailash said to them, "Now you're free. Sorry for the trouble."
Then he drove away in the opposite direction, leaving behind a trail of smoke and dust. It was really hard for the hostages to believe that they were free. Then they thought that probably the ransom had been paid.
It was about 5 p.m. when the bus to Gwalior came. The hostages waved at the bus to stop. About an hour later they were at the house of Ramesh. Soon after, I also reached there. I was amazed to hear about their sudden release.
All the family members of the hostages were extremely happy. Ramesh's wife was overjoyed. Everybody thanked God. But there was a question. Ramesh’s grandfather revealed that the amount collected for ransom was still with him. Neither had anybody come to collect that nor had they received any instructions on how to send the money. He exclaimed, “They released all without a ransom?” Everyone was surprised. They attributed it to the greatness of God. It was indeed a miracle. Change of heart does not happen easily. Everyone now wanted to go to their respective homes now. I, too, had not informed my family about my sudden visit to Morena as I had thought it would be a quick visit. How different had it turned out to be! The case had come to the knowledge of the police, so the police might undertake some investigation. My presence might help. So I decided to go home after a couple of days.
19
BANDIT’S NEWS
Next day the main news in all the local newspapers was about the kidnapping of the wedding party and the subsequent surrender of Kailash. The headlines screamed, “Kailash Pandey kidnapped twelve people, but just two days after keeping them hostage freed them on his own without any ransom. He has surrendered to the police.”
This was followed by his interview given to the press.
In his interview he had told how he came to know the story of his grandfather’s fighting against the British.
He also told how this knowledge and his love for Parvati caused a change of his heart and he decided to free the hostages without any ransom and decided to surrender.
A few days later, Kailash and Parvati's parents along with Parvati came to visit him in prison. They all were very happy. The parents deliberately left Kailash and Parvati alone. Parvati gifted a handkerchief on which she had embroidered his name and said, "Be strong, you did pretty good. I will wait for you.”
Their meeting time was over. While leaving, they had tears in their eyes, but they were also proud of Kailash, which gave Kailash much strength.
Hope you liked the story. Send in your feedback to goswamirr@hotmail.com
