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Special Correspondent: Ganging up to garner votes
Report by: Srikant Pratyush in BiharProgramme: Special CorrespondentTelecast: Saturday, 9:30 pmRepeat Telecast: Sunday, 12:30 pm Visual Inputs: Shruti SharmaAdaptation: Jigme Palden Pazo
Report by: Srikant Pratyush in Bihar
Programme: Special Correspondent
Telecast: Saturday, 9:30 pm
Repeat Telecast: Sunday, 12:30 pm
Visual Inputs: Shruti Sharma
Adaptation: Jigme Palden Pazo
As the country gets engulfed in the frenzy of elections, Special Correspondent visits the state where the event assumes the most dramatic proportions. In Bihar, more than in any other Indian state, politics and elections draw the full scale participation of criminal elements for the irresistible pay offs of money and power.
Criminal groups command great influence in the state, where politics are divided on the lines of caste and ideologies. Naxals, private armies and all other anti-social elements get into the game with gusto. Zee News Correspondent Srikant Pratyush was able to penetrate the heart of lawlessness for an exclusive interview with the leader of one of the notorious gangs.
Shankar Singh heads the group that call themselves North Bihar Liberation Army. Like all the other criminal groups that put up a false front, his group too claims to be fighting for the noble cause of the oppressed and downtrodden.
The criminal groups in Bihar enjoy bargaining power with the politicians when elections come around. With strongholds in certain pockets of north Bihar, they are able to hatch deals with politicians for support in return for various favours.
One indication of the extent of lawlessness that prevails in this part of the country, are the weapons brandished by these gangs. The latest and the most sophisticated arms are in their possession including AK 47s and AK 57s. But the one that stands out is the Insaz which is supposedly the exclusive privilege of the Indian army.
The usual pattern that the course of elections takes in Bihar has the gangs deciding on the candidates to back. Once the decision is made, every possible mean and tactic is employed to garner the precious votes, be it through convincing the common man or resorting to threats to ensure the votes.
There was a time when booth capturing was about the only illegal activity that elections witnessed. Now however, those days are long gone as money has ensured unprecedented power for these gangs. The North Bihar Liberation Army alone has a strong presence in at least 6 or 7 districts of north Bihar.
In the past the gangs were limited in their roles to acting as the hench men for political leaders. Today their influence has increased to such an extent that they even have their representatives in the Legislative Assembly, no less.
So what is in it for them? The answer is not hard to figure out, as a victorious candidate means the prized and sough-after govt tenders and contracts coming their way. It also means more protection, making them all the more immune to persecution by the police. The fact that all politicians approach these criminal gangs for support, alone is evidence enough that in Bihar election time means action time for the gangs that recognize no laws but their own.
Programme: Special Correspondent
Telecast: Saturday, 9:30 pm
Repeat Telecast: Sunday, 12:30 pm
Visual Inputs: Shruti Sharma
Adaptation: Jigme Palden Pazo
As the country gets engulfed in the frenzy of elections, Special Correspondent visits the state where the event assumes the most dramatic proportions. In Bihar, more than in any other Indian state, politics and elections draw the full scale participation of criminal elements for the irresistible pay offs of money and power.
Criminal groups command great influence in the state, where politics are divided on the lines of caste and ideologies. Naxals, private armies and all other anti-social elements get into the game with gusto. Zee News Correspondent Srikant Pratyush was able to penetrate the heart of lawlessness for an exclusive interview with the leader of one of the notorious gangs.
Shankar Singh heads the group that call themselves North Bihar Liberation Army. Like all the other criminal groups that put up a false front, his group too claims to be fighting for the noble cause of the oppressed and downtrodden.
The criminal groups in Bihar enjoy bargaining power with the politicians when elections come around. With strongholds in certain pockets of north Bihar, they are able to hatch deals with politicians for support in return for various favours.
One indication of the extent of lawlessness that prevails in this part of the country, are the weapons brandished by these gangs. The latest and the most sophisticated arms are in their possession including AK 47s and AK 57s. But the one that stands out is the Insaz which is supposedly the exclusive privilege of the Indian army.
The usual pattern that the course of elections takes in Bihar has the gangs deciding on the candidates to back. Once the decision is made, every possible mean and tactic is employed to garner the precious votes, be it through convincing the common man or resorting to threats to ensure the votes.
There was a time when booth capturing was about the only illegal activity that elections witnessed. Now however, those days are long gone as money has ensured unprecedented power for these gangs. The North Bihar Liberation Army alone has a strong presence in at least 6 or 7 districts of north Bihar.
In the past the gangs were limited in their roles to acting as the hench men for political leaders. Today their influence has increased to such an extent that they even have their representatives in the Legislative Assembly, no less.
So what is in it for them? The answer is not hard to figure out, as a victorious candidate means the prized and sough-after govt tenders and contracts coming their way. It also means more protection, making them all the more immune to persecution by the police. The fact that all politicians approach these criminal gangs for support, alone is evidence enough that in Bihar election time means action time for the gangs that recognize no laws but their own.