Pilot seeks security for Bhanwarpura

8216;8216;The police try to gather intelligence about the movements of dacoits by pressuring them, and the dacoits consider them informers and go about killing them,8217;8217; he said.

Pilot said, though law and order is a state subject, an initiative by the Union Home Minister for improving policing in the area would make a difference. He alleged apathy by the law-enforcing authorities, saying the police had an advance tip-off about the dacoit attack, but they made no effort to pre-empt it.

The establishment of a police station in the vicinity of Bhanwarpura could go a long way in instilling a sense of security among people, who till now were at the mercy of dacoits. Located at Gwalior8217;s countryside, the means of communication and transport are limited in the region.

Even the post-attack crisis handling by the police smacked off a casual attitude, Pilot said. For example, the bodies of victims were put through a post mortem examination at the ill-equipped local dispensary rather than being taken to Gwalior. The authorities obviously wished to push through a formality rather than effectively do what was mandatory under the law, he said.

The Rs 2 lakh offered by the government to the families of each victim were inadequate. So he had decided to provide every victim8217;s family Rs 50,000 at his own level. 8216;8216;I will collect this money on my own, put it into the accounts of victims8217; widows in the form of fixed deposits so they have a permanent source of income,8217;8217; he added.