Looking back at Bawaria dacoity along Tamil Nadu highways

In the aboriginal hours of January 8, 2005, astatine astir 2 a.m., acheronian engulfed the constrictive agelong branching disconnected from the Grand Northern Trunk (GNT) Road, besides known arsenic the Kolkata–Chennai National Highway. The villagers of Thanakulam adjacent Periyapalayam, astir 60 kilometres from Chennai, were accelerated asleep, unaware of the information approaching.

A fully-covered goods bearer — HR 38 J 5249 — rolled softly on the deserted roadworthy and halted astir fractional a kilometre from the village. Six to 8 men climbed down silently from the lorry and moved toward the location astatine the colony entranceway — the residence of K. Sudarsanam, astatine that constituent of time, a sitting AIADMK MLA and erstwhile Minister.

At precisely 2.15 a.m., with the plaything of an axe, the stillness was shattered. The equipped pack smashed the woody beforehand door, storming inside. Their person stood defender outside, gripping a gun.

The pack rapidly climbed the staircase to the archetypal floor. They bolted the country of Sudarsanam’s elder son, Vijayakumar, who was sleeping inside. They past broke unfastened the doorway to the country successful which his 2nd son, K. S. Sathish Kumar was asleep. They shattered the solid of a window, and done that gap, the intruders rained blows connected Sathish Kumar with blunt robust rods, leaving him bleeding.

When his wife, Geetha, rushed forward, 1 of the men twisted her near limb until she cried retired successful pain. Their eight-year-old girl clung to the attackers’ legs, begging them not to wounded her father. But the pack ignored her pleas, continued assaulting Sathish Kumar and Geetha, and ripped jewellery disconnected Geetha’s assemblage astatine knifepoint.

Woken the commotion, Sudarsanam who was sleeping with his woman successful a country connected the crushed level — stepped retired carrying a sickle. The infinitesimal the assailants saw the weapon, they fired a .12-bore circular into the close broadside of his chest. He collapsed and died instantly.

The pack past entered his bedroom, the pooja country and the country adjacent to the kitchen. They tore unfastened almirahs, overturned beds and looted astir sixty sovereigns of golden jewellery.Three women — Jayamal, Sudarsanam’s wife; Thatchayani, his mother-in-law; and Neela, the household maid — were unharmed but perfectly terrified.

Recalling the incident, Sathish Kumar said: “Hearing the dependable of my country doorway being deed aggregate times, I looked done the model and saw six oregon 7 radical trying to interruption it. I held the doorway tightly from down but couldn’t halt them. They broke the model adjacent to the doorway and attacked maine with an robust rod done the opening. A stroke to my near enarthrosis forced maine aside. They past entered the room. I fainted. After 10–15 days of treatment, I was told that my begetter had been changeable dead.”

Hearing the family’s screams, villagers gathered extracurricular the compound partition and hurled stones astatine the dacoits. The pack fired a circular toward them, dispersing the crowd, and escaped into the darkness, with valuables looted from the house, boarding their lorry parked fractional a kilometre away.

The past Tiruvallur Superintendent of Police V. Vardharaju rushed to the scene, cordoned disconnected the country and summoned his team. “The nationalist had gathered successful ample numbers by them. The transgression country was calamitous, with bloodstains everywhere. Our occupation was to support the integrity of the scene. A brace of chappals utilized by the accused and an bare slug ammunition were recovered,” helium said.

The dacoity and execution shook the full State. Special teams were formed nether the past Inspector-General of Police (North), S. R. Jangid. Deputy Superintendents of Police V. Jayakumar (Thirukoilur), M. Sudhakar (Madhavaram), C. Vijay Kumar (Tiruvallur), and Ara. Arul Arasu (Hosur) joined the investigation. Mr. Vardharaju said arsenic soon arsenic they began investigation, they started noticing a akin signifier successful respective different road dacoities successful the State. Working with past Cuddalore SP Davidson Devasirvatham, they mapped the crimes.

Decade of dacoity

For astir 10 years, a drawstring of dacoities involving murders and grievous assaults — each with akin a modus operandi — had been reported crossed Tamil Nadu. Between 1995 and 2005, 24 specified incidents occurred on the National Highway from the Tiruvallur–Andhra borderline to the Krishnagiri–Karnataka border, resulting successful 13 deaths and 63 superior injuries. Chance fingerprints were lifted astatine galore scenes but determination were nary matches successful constabulary records. Similar offences successful Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka besides remained unsolved.

“The pack utilized lone to talk lone successful Hindi during the crimes. Words similar ‘Chabi doh’ (give the key) and ‘Chup raho’ (keep quiet) were used. It was wide that this clump were from northbound India,” said Thillai Natarajan, erstwhile probe serviceman successful the Periyapalayam case.

The pack archetypal struck Tamil Nadu connected June 7, 1995, astatine the location of M. Mohan Kumar successful Walajapet, past portion of Vellore district. They killed him, earnestly injured his woman and 2 children, and stole jewellery and currency worthy implicit ₹50,000. The lawsuit was closed arsenic undetectable 3 years later. The pursuing year, they struck again successful the aforesaid municipality successful different house.

After a five-year gap, the pack resurfaced successful 2001, committing a large dacoity successful Avinashi, followed by 3 much robberies successful Dharmapuri and Salem districts.

Their crimes surged successful 2002, with 8 dacoities reported successful Salem, Avinashi, Kangeyam, Gummidipoondi, Athur, Kariamangalam, Burgur and Sriperumbudur. The astir sensational was successful Salem connected September 12, 2002, successful which they killed Congress functionary Thalamuthu Natarajan and his watchman Gopal and injured six others. A sub-inspector reportedly saw the pack walking distant but failed to act. They walked 2 kilometres, boarded a lorry and vanished.

In 2003, they struck 4 locations — Sholavaram, Walajapet and Natrampalli — committing murders astatine 3 of them. In 2004, they targeted Thiruverkadu, Vellavedu, Sriperumbudur and Thiruvalam. In Thiruverkadu, they changeable location proprietor Gajendran dead, killed his watchman and injured 2 others. In Sriperumbudur, they slammed a 14-year-old miss against a wall.

The breakthrough

Mr. Jangid said that based connected the modus operandi, investigators suspected North Indian transgression gangs but could not place immoderate 1 pack successful particular. Teams visited Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, ruling retired transgression tribes successful those regions. They past focused connected Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Punjab, arsenic their probe had shown similarities with the Bawaria gang’s modus operandi.

“Initially, it was virtually a chaotic goose chase. Every pb was pursued. Fingerprint experts travelled with the teams carrying the accidental prints lifted from scenes. Police records successful these States were checked,” Mr. Jangid said. A large situation was that constabulary forces successful UP, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan did not regularly sphere fingerprints oregon support elaborate records of hardened criminals.

The breakthrough came connected February 1, 2005, erstwhile Inspector of Police (Fingerprints) Dhanancheliyan, who was portion of the Uttar Pradesh team, recovered that 4 accidental prints matched a thumb content recorded successful 1996 successful the “register of transit prisoners” astatine Agra Central Jail. The people belonged to Laxman alias Ashok, a Bawaria transgression from Chandanpura colony successful Bharatpur district, Rajasthan. He was linked to six dacoities successful Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Tamil Nadu constabulary teams camped successful the portion for days, arresting the criminals. They seized a expanse from a schoolgirl’s notebook containing telephone numbers of pack members. Call records and a confession from an accused successful Rajasthan confirmed the engagement of the Bawaria pack from Haryana and Rajasthan.

Who were the Bawarias

The Bawarias were among the astir convulsive transgression groups, operating chiefly astatine nighttime on highways. Their lorries had concealed chambers for hiding weapons and robust rods. They parked adjacent roadside eateries and walked up to 4 oregon 5 kilometres to targeted homes, smashing doors with stones oregon alloy rods and unleashing brutal, unprovoked violence.

13 persons were yet arrested, including Oma alias Omprakash Bawaria, 55, of Ghargot colony successful Faridabad district, the pack leader; his member Jagadish; Ashok alias Laxman; Rakesh alias Kuttu; Anguri; Jaildar Singh; and 3 women. Two pack members were killed successful an brushwood adjacent Meerut.

Courts aboriginal convicted respective of them, including Oma and Ashok, successful 4 cases — for the Walajapet doctor’s execution and for the execution of MLA Sudarsanam successful Periyapalayam. In 2006, Oma and Laxman initially received the decease punishment successful the Walajapet lawsuit portion others were fixed beingness imprisonment. The High Court aboriginal commuted the decease sentences. Oma died successful Vellore Central Prison, and 3 others proceed to service beingness terms.

The Sudarsanam Case

In the Sudarsanam execution case, 32 persons were named successful the complaint expanse filed by Periyapalayam Police connected September 18, 2006. Of them, 22 remained absconding. Two — Oma and Boora — died during trial, and 1 was treated arsenic a juvenile. Seven were tried, but the lawsuit was aboriginal divided aft 3 women jumped bail. The proceedings yet proceeded against Jagadish, Rakesh alias Guddu, Ashok alias Laxman, and Jaildar Singh alias Lali Master, a schoolteacher.

Additional Public Prosecutor D. Maharajan said the prosecution examined 66 witnesses and produced 52 exhibits and worldly objects, including 2 country-made guns and 2 lorries utilized by the accused.

The 4 men were brought to the XV Additional Sessions Court astatine Singaravelar Maligai nether choky information connected Monday, November 24, Judge L. Abraham Lincoln held that the eight-year-old child, who had held the attackers’ legs and pleaded with them not to harm her father, had intelligibly seen their faces and credibly identified them.

He noted that the fingerprint expert’s grounds powerfully corroborated the eyewitnesses and supported the prosecution’s version. “The prosecution has produced unassailable grounds against the accused, and the defence has not raised immoderate superior uncertainty regarding the credibility of the witnesses,” helium said.

However, the tribunal recovered that the prosecution had “miserably failed” to beryllium the engagement of Jaildar Singh oregon nexus him to the pack done admissible evidence. He was acquitted.

The remaining 3 were sentenced to 4 to 5 beingness presumption nether Sections 397 (robbery oregon dacoity with effort to origin decease oregon grievous hurt), 396 (dacoity with murder), and for amerciable possession of arms and ammunition. They volition stay successful situation for the remainder of their earthy life.

The sedate dacoities committed by the Bawaria gang, which erstwhile terrorised the State, came to an extremity a fewer years ago, but justice, adjacent if limited, has been served. However, respective pack members stay absconding and proceed to evade proceedings successful pending cases.