In the Bollywood classic Sholay, the fictional village of Ramgarh is terrorised by a local dacoit named Gabbar Singh. In one scene, Gabbar, expressing pride about the fear he has created says, “Mothers tell their children to go to sleep. Go to sleep otherwise Gabbar will come.”
Of course, Sholay was made in 1975 and a lot has changed in the past 45 years. Today, dacoits are still around, but have used a new tool to make their presence felt even more terrifying. That tool is social media and dacoits have been creating videos that are being shared on messaging tools such as WhatsApp.
The most recent case comes from Rajasthan’s Dhaulpur area where dacoits have been posting videos where they boast about their exploits, the fear that they have created, and the reward the government has put on their head. The videos show them in the ravines of the forests and holding advanced hi-tech guns.
These dacoits have also been threatening local politicians in the region. While the videos have created panic in nearby areas, they have also put them on the police radar.
The dacoits have been identified as Dharmendra alias Lukka, Rakesh, Sitaram, Gabbar, Keshav, Ramvilas, Pappu, and Ravi. The police is trying to ascertain their exact location in Dhaulpur.
Dhaulpur police has launched an intensive search operation to arrest them. Superintendent of Police Mridul Kachhawa has formed a special team to search for the dacoits. Intensive combing operations are being carried out in the forests of Basai Dang, Mania, Badi and Sepau thana areas of Dhaulpur. The police has also said that action will be initiated against those who provide shelter and food to the dacoits
According to informed police sources, the dacoits seen in the videos are more into kidnapping and operate in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. This gang also outsources kidnapping. In a novel business model, the dacoits also purchase persons kidnapped by smaller criminals, and demand larger ransoms.
