The station officer did not care to inform his higher–ups about the villagers’ plea. Such was the bitterness between Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh police administrations after Malkhan Singh’s surrender, that neither did the M P police inform the UP police take cognisance of what happened at Bhind on the famous surrender day of Malkhan Singh.

Although, some journalist friends tell me, Muslim denies his involvement in the Dastampur killings, the more widely publicized story goes that on the night of 7 June 1982 he drove into the village in an open Matador van. With him were twenty or so armed men.

They were looking for the houses of two men, Shivram Singh Yadav and Gangacharan Yadav, both of whom had been well rewarded for assisting the police with the capture of Mustaqeem. All the occupants, including women and children, of the single–storeyed house owned by Shivram Singh Yadav were gunned down. Many of the bodies had several bullet wounds. Hearing the sound of gunfire, the other family managed to escape, much to Muslim’s rage, and he opened fire on their neighbours, killing another two men and a twelve–year–old boy. When the gang, left, the villagers were in no doubt as to the reason for their vendetta. They fired shots into the air and shouted, “Baba Mustaqeem zindabad! Khoon ka badla khoon se lenge!” “Long live Baba Mustaqeem! We will avenge blood with blood!”

On the same night there was another spate of revenge killings in the village of Rampura, Uttar Pradesh, where six harijans were shot dead. They were said to have been suspected police informers.

Vishwanath Pratap Singh, who resigned as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh over the affair the next day, was later to become Prime Minister of the country, following Rajiv Gandhi’s defeat the polls in November 1989. By then, Muslim would have spent seven years in jail, but in 1982 none of this could have been foreseen. When questioned about the dacoit problem in July of that year, Mr V. P. Singh responded in the following way:

Q: Why did you resign?

A: I felt I had a responsibility. There have been a series of such killings. My brother has been a victim of the dacoits. But at the same time, I would not like to blame the police because they have shown good results. A number of notorious gangs have been eliminated.

Q: The height of your regime was the anti–dacoity drive of last winter. There is an allegation that a number of false encounters took place where innocent people were killed. How do you react to this charge?

A: As many as 130 policemen laid down their lives. U P is a very politically alive state. If what is alleged was true, then people would not have taken it lying down. No government could have survived such an eventuality. Of course, certain cases have come to our notice. We have instituted murder charges against four Sub–Inspectors and eleven constables. But the allegations are, in most cases, wild.

Q: What is your reaction to the surrender of Malkhan Singh?

A: We are not in favour of surrenders.

Q: It is well known that while Malkhan was surrendering, Muslim, who was a member of his gang, announced that he was not surrendering because he wanted to avenge the death of his brother, Mustaqeem. Should this not have put the police on alert at Dastampur?

A: Yes, that is one part. The villagers had spoken to the station office at Derapur. But somehow he did not react or inform his superiors. We have suspended him. So the station officer is suspended and the C M is dismissed!

In March 1982, Mr V. p. Singh’s elder brother, Justice Chandra Shekar Prasad, a judge of the Allahabad High Court, was shot dead, together with his twelve–year–old son, Ajit Pratap Singh, and a servant travelling in the same jeep. The second son, Vikram Pratap Singh, then nine years old, was injured. They had been returning from the family palace, an old fort, after a day’s shikaar (hunt). It is almost certain that the dacoits mistook the judge’s jeep for a police jeep and thought they had run into an ambush. The son who survived heard them say, “Galti ho gai” (“it’s been a mistake”).

This incident, coupled with growing public outrage at police excesses in Uttar Pradesh, led many to conclude that just as the dacoits were motivated by feelings of personal revenge, so were politicians.

MM: What is the philosophical basis of this experiment?

JP: I would say the philosophical basis is the same as that of Bhoodan, Gramdan and Ghandhiji’s idea of “Trustee-ship” the idea that the human heart can be changed if a roper aooroach is made, that nobody is irredeemable and that the dacoits of Chambalghati are no exceptions. The philosophy behind it is similar to the philosophy behind modern penology that the criminal has to be reformed and not punished.

MM: Who do you find, JP, are the more intractable the dcoits or businessmen?

JP: I think it is businessmen who are more intractable. That is why we have this creeping disease of “Statism” in India today.

MM: Supposing a cynic were to say that this is a law and order problem and you are needlessly giving it more noble dimensions? Are these men really baghis, rebels? Are they part Robin Hood?

JP: The rebel or baghi tradition behind the Chambalghati dacoits goes back centuries. The defeat of the Rajput classes of the area, such as the Tomars and the Bhadaurias, at the hands of the Sultans of Delhi and later the Moghuls and Marathas converted them into rebels against the established order and kept the tradition alive. Geophysical and economic conditions helped the process. The Robin Hood tradition has also been alive among them. The latest instance was that of the legendary Mansingh. He would distribute a considerable part of what he took from the rich to the poor. He ran schools in various places and the poor looked upon him as a benefactor and called him “Raja”. The tradition may no longer exist in the same form, but its memory and habit of mind persist.

Most of them, I should say 75 per cent of those who are surrendering, are persons whose families were victims of some socio-economic injustice on the part of some petty revenue or police officials. Being hot-tempered people, the provocation led them to some violent action after which they took shelter in the bosom of the ravines. Their initial crime having been committed to avenge injustice, they naturally look upon themselves as baghis.

This is not, therefore, a mere law and order problem but a socio-economic and psychological problem. Everyone, including official committees of inquiry, accept this. But interestingly enough, for some reason, the law and order aspect of the problem has been given much more attention than any other aspects. In fact, it would not be wrong to say that practically nothing has been done so far to remove the socio-economic causes which breed this problem.

These are extracts from a lengthy interview (indicating the importance of the issue at the time). Towards the end, Minoo Masani asks him:

MM: What are these “sophisticated weapons’ that are referred to in the press?

JP: I really do not know much about weapons, but I was told that they include light machine guns, bren and sten guns and automatic rifles. I was told by someone while the surrender ceremony was on, that the value of the arms surrendered would be Rs 10 to 15 lakhs.

MM: Any idea as to where they come from?

JP: From the police, from the military. There is a flourishing trade in pilfered arms in the country, you know. I was told that a good deal of arms find their way out into the blackmarket from the arms repair factory in Gwalior.

MM: What is this controversy about keeping the press and public away from the scene of the surrender? What is wrong with the BBC making a film? Is it not good public relations for India abroad where our image is rather dim?

JP: I have much to say in criticism of the Government’s policy on this and some other matters. But, at the moment, I must restrain myself. This much, however, I must say, that for the life of me I have not been able to understand the Government’s inhibitions in this respect… Whenever the police succeed in shooting down a few dacoits, the event is as well publicized as possible; the dead bodies are exhibited to the public, their photographs as well as the photographs of the police who “bagged” them are publicized in the press, and the announced prizes are ostentatiously given away. All that is supposed to produce a salutary effect and strengthen the power and prestige of the law and order authority. But has that authority no other philosophy than that of tooth for tooth and eye for eye? Are we so primitive still in our ideas of crime and punishment? I do not know what others think, but I have no doubt that the surrender programme could never have succeeded without the full and willing cooperation of the Madhya Pradesh Police, as well as the Police of Uttar Pradesh and Rajastan. I have publicly acknowledged their help and said that a good measure of the credit for the surrender goes, without doubt, especially to the Madhya Pradesh Police. Therefore, it is wrong to think the surrenders have lowered the prestige of the police in that area and eroded the authority of the law and order establishment. I strongly repudiate all these assumptions. They will be valid only if the authorities believe that shooting and killing are the only methods that the police can follow in dealing with the dacoits.

Encouraged by Mrs Gandhi’s attitude, Rajendra Chaturvedi now faced the task of finding Phoolan Devi in order to offer her the option of a voluntary surrender. He spoke to Malkhan Singh, in jail, who had no idea where she might be but said he could probably get in touch with Ghanshyam who had been associated with her, through Vikram Mallah and Mustaqeem. It was an important lead and within some weeks Chaturvedi was able to meet Ghanshyam, having assured him through Malkhan and their “contact” that he would be coming alone and unarmed. They spoke at length and parted on the understanding that Ghanshyam would, on the one hand, consider the option himself and, on the other, try to make contact with Phoolan Devi in order to arrange a meeting which they would all attend.

Shortly after this Ghanshyam met the gang in the jungles o Hamripur, where he informed her that he had met the policeman; had decided to trust him; was considering surrender himself, urging Phoolan and Man Singh to at least explore the possibility. After some discussion, it was agreed that they would meet Chaturvedi together in the ravines. Ghanshyam would make all the arrangements regarding security and send them word through a trusted member of his gang.

The day Mansharam and Ramprakash, two members of Ghanshyam’s gang, arrived at their camp, a few miles from the village of Sahnson in the district of Etawah, Phoolan Devi was in a restless mood, as she awaited their arrival. The night before she had dreamt images of blood, she said, but could not work out their meaning. She had felt no anxiety in her dream, so whose blood was it? Man Singh tried to reassure her, saying they did not have to give the policeman an answer and would merely listen to what he had to say.

When Ghanshyam’s men arrived, they were given tea and something to eat. They had brought a letter from Ghanshyam that said time was running out; if they were serious about considering the offer, they should come to his camp immediately. The letter bore Ghanshyam’s seal, which he always wore like a talisman round his neck, so its authenticity was not in doubt. Man Singh and Phoolan Devi agreed to accompany the men, leaving the rest of the gang where they were, with instructions to move to another site, further east, in case of trouble.

They did not know that Ghanshyam had been meeting police officers on the other side of the border in Uttar Pradesh, in addition to Chaturvedi, who was from the Madhya Pradesh force. Clearly, he wanted to ensure that he extracted the best possible deal. Malkhan’s surrender had proved to be a political success, with Madhya Pradesh taking all the credit.

By contrast, the reputation of the Uttar Pradesh police force was in shreds and the resignation of the Chief Minister V. P. Singh had not helped.

The U P authorities were keen to prove that they too could win the confidence of dacoit gangs if they so chose.