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Journalism of Courage
In a sensational incident of looting that left three dead, the family members of Raj Kishore Sharma name changed not only thwarted the attempt of a gang but also managed to snatch away its weapons and shoot back at the robbers. After two men from the gang escaped, police reached the spot, took the bodies in their possession, and asked Sharma to leave. Neither was Sharma interrogated nor was the gang chased.
The investigating officer, on condition of anonymity, said: 8220;The money looted would change hands within an hour and reach Dibhai from where it8217;s almost impossible to nab the culprit. We are helpless.8221;
The officer8217;s helplessness is best described by the crime figures of Bulandshahar district: On an average, the past six months have seen at least two cases of rape, one incident of looting, and seven murders take place on a daily basis.
Take the case of Kavita Rani8217;s murder. The 37-year-old headman of Dhanera Kirat village in Bulandshahr district, Triloki Singh, was arrested from Delhi along with Ravindra Pradhan, the other accused. Kavita, a lecturer at the Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, was murdered in October last year. She had received threatening letters from Singh. He was also wanted in two other cases. Later, Pradhan admitted that he, along with Singh, had strangulated Kavita and disposed of her body in a canal in Sanauta in Bulandshahr.
In the infamous Nitish Katara case, Vikas and Vishal Yadav had taken Nitish to a location in Bulandshahr and allegedly killed him there. The police had allegedly connived with them. D P Yadav, their father, was said to have 8220;connections8221; in the district administration. Katara8217;s body was recovered from a village in the district.
Moreover, Bulandshahr and adjoining rural areas of Greater Noida have had the highest number of honour killings in the state. Official figures suggest that there are 100 villages in the district with history of honour killings. The Indian Express had reported a recent case where a 14-year-old girl was killed for allowing a boy to come into her room.
A senior official of the district, again on condition of anonymity, said: 8220;This district is the crime capital of the state. Even Muzaffarnagar, considered the hub of illegal activities, has an average rate of five murders per day. And all this has picked up ever since Dibhai Assembly seat was won over by Guddu Pandit, the MLA who was arrested in an abduction case last week.
However, Senior Superintendent of Police of Bulandshahr, Raj Kumar, said, 8220;Crime rate has gone up, but it can8217;t be termed as the hub of crime in UP. Action was initiated in several cases and anti-social elements rounded up.8221; He was quick to add that 8220;there are regions that have been volatile and Dibhai is one of them8221;.
Another senior official refused to come on record, but said, 8220;there are illegal arms rackets running from Dibhai and at least 10 gangs operate from there directly under politicians8221;.
Guddu Pandit won the Dibhai seat last year. He had defeated Rajveer Singh, son of former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh. Since then, officials say that the region has acted as a 8220;safe haven8221; for criminals.
The place lies on the banks of the Ganga and most of the gangs use boats to illegally move arms from one region to another. 8220;Nabbing the culprits here is difficult,8221; officials say.
While there are 8220;strict instructions8221; from 8220;higher-ups8221; not to touch the area under the tainted MLA, the gangs have not even spared journalists. Arun Chowdhary, a stringer working for a national television channel, was thrown into the Ganga when he put up 8220;objectionable8221; questions to one of the gang leaders in the area. 8220;I swam across the river for at least eight km to save myself; no journalist has been able to go to the area after that incident,8221; he told The Indian Express.
The BSP MLA was arrested on Sunday for allegedly 8220;abducting8221; a TV reporter, Sheetal Birla. Pandit was shown as taken into custody from Shashikant Marg in Noida8217;s Sector-53 after Chief Minister Mayawati summoned him to her residence. Sheetal8217;s father Dinesh Chand Birla had alleged that Pandit had 8220;married8221; his daughter despite being already married with two children.
CRIME FILE
8226; According to the National Crime Records, Uttar Pradesh has the highest murder rate against SC/STs in the country and a large number of these have been reported from Bulandshahr
8226; In 2005, the National Crime Records Bureau recorded 1,217 cases of rape, 2,256 cases of kidnapping/abduction and 1,564 cases of dowry deaths in Uttar Pradesh
8226; Bulandshahr8217;s figures in June 8212; 20 rape cases, close to 200 cases of abduction/kidnapping/loot and 144 murder cases based on complaints filed; FIRs not registered in many
