Dacoit Parihar had started out as a police informer

Inspector Virender Singh Bhadoria, who led the advance team that challenged Parihar, died in the fighting. Five of his men are being treated for serious injuries. An AK-47, an automatic and a semi-automatic rifle, and four other weapons were found on the dacoits, besides a large number of cartridges.

“This was a real encounter,” said Malkhan Singh, a dacoit who once terrorised the Chambal valley before surrendering in the 1980s. Parihar was wanted for more than a 100 kidnappings, murders, and plunder in the Chambal valley, spread across parts of MP, Rajasthan, and UP.

“He had become a major challenge and his gang was flourishing with latest firearms,” DIG D C Sagar told The Indian Express. “There are other Gujjar gangs, but they are very small.”

The dacoit drew his strength from a section of the Thakur community, a major political force in the Gwalior-Bhind region. The house where he was killed reportedly also belonged to a Thakur. The community supported him because he stood against the Gujjar gangs. He was also known for his anti-Brahmin mindset and a few months ago announced that he would kill 101 Brahmins.

He killed the head of a Brahmin family in UP’s Chorela village. He then joined Salim Gujjar but started his own gang after differences with him. In between, he worked for the MP police. Meanwhile, the government announced that Inspector Bhadoria’s son would be absorbed as a sub-inspector.