Representative image: Local cases are few, but residents of these villages, especially Kadiya Sansi, face criminal proceedings in different parts of the country. Image: Shutterstock
A cluster of three villages, dotted with palatial bungalows and sprawling campuses, stands out as an outlier in Madhya Pradesh’s Rajgarh district when it comes to economic prosperity. Only it is fueled by lawless activities.
The recent theft of valuables worth Rs 1.45 crore by a 14-year-old boy during a wedding at a five-star hotel in Rajasthan’s capital Jaipur has put these villages – Kadiya Sansi, Gulkhedi and Hulkhedi – on the national crime map.
Local police estimate that between 1,000 and 1,200 criminal cases have been registered across the country against children, men, girls and women from these villages. Kadiya Sansi, with a population of about 5,000, is the epicentre of illegal activities.
But it is not easy for security forces to make arrests here. A police team from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, protected by local police, was attacked in Gulkhedi under Boda police station during one such attempt on August 10.
Local cases are few, but residents of these villages, especially Kadiya Sansi, are facing criminal cases in different parts of the country. We come to know about them only when police from outside contact us. There must be 1,000 to 1,200 cases registered against such people across India, Boda police station in-charge Ramkumar Bhagat told PTI.
Bhagat said the lure of easy money is driving residents of these three villages, about 50 km from the district headquarters, to break the law.
They make easy money through loot, robbery and other crimes. They seem to inspire each other. Since most of these people are associated with such crimes, there is no one who can stop them. Women are more adept in this field than men, he said.
Bhagat said a local police team was also attacked with stones when they were accompanying their Tamil Nadu counterparts to investigate the accused in a crime committed in Coimbatore.
A search is underway to locate those who threw stones at the police team, he said.
Asked about reports that outsiders are also being trained in Kadiya Sansi village to steal, rob and engage in other criminal activities, Bhagat claimed ignorance and said that people in this cluster of villages conduct reconnaissance before committing crimes.
However, this is not the first time that a police team has been attacked in these villages, also known for the illegal liquor trade.
Mohan Singh, sarpanch of Kadiya Sansi village, said the people are well educated and are working in various jobs in major cities.
There may be people involved in such incidents, but people here are well educated and in big cities, two or three people from each household are employed. Our children study in good private schools, Singh told PTI over the phone.
The village chief dismissed reports that the area is a breeding ground for criminal activities. There is no truth to these reports, he said.
Singh also denied reports that people in these villages are training children to become experts in committing crimes.
Asked about the robbery in Jaipur involving a minor and valuables worth Rs 1.45 crore, Singh said the boy might not have imagined what was in the bag he stole. He must have thought that he would get Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 as pocket money, Singh said.
In the village, everyone has land and property. We are not terrorists. We all want our children to be educated. We live in a technological age. Those who were involved in such crimes before are no longer around. No one can defeat the administration and the police, he said.
However, police records present a contrasting version.
In the last six months, police have arrested 25 members of the Kadiya gang and seized property and valuables worth Rs 4.37 crore from their possession, officials said.
Rajgarh Superintendent of Police (SP) Aditya Mishra said that people from Kadiya Sansi are active in criminal activities not only in MP but also in other states.
Referring to the Jaipur robbery, Mishra said a 14-year-old boy allegedly stole a bag containing jewellery and valuables worth Rs 1.45 crore during the wedding of a Telangana businessman’s son at a five-star hotel in the Rajasthan capital on August 8.
By the time the boyfriend’s mother learned of the robbery, the boy and his accomplice had already fled the scene, she said.
After getting information from their counterparts in Rajasthan, Rajgarh police nabbed the accused within 24 hours, he said.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: August 25, 2024 | 11:46 am IS
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