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Champaran: Battling the bandits` menace
Report by: Brajesh MishraProgramme: Special Correspondent Telecast: Saturday (Aug 9) at 9:30 pm Thursday (Aug 14) at 4:30 pm
Report by: Brajesh Mishra
Programme: Special Correspondent
Telecast: Saturday (Aug 9) at 9:30 pm Thursday (Aug 14) at 4:30 pm
"That day in Champaran was an unforgettable event in my life...It is no exaggeration, but the literal truth, to say that in this meeting with the peasants I was face to face with God, Ahimsa and Truth."
... M. K. Gandhi. The land of God, Ahimsa and Truth? That must have been decades back. Ironically, Champaran is the land of dacoits today, and thankfully, of some brave fighters who are hell-bent on clearing this land of them. An exclusive episode on the bandits of Champaran is to be aired on Saturday at 9:30 pm in our programme "Special Correspondent" on ZEE NEWS. Our special correspondent Brajesh Mishra vouched by what Gandhi had said about the day in Champaran, of the day being an unforgettable one. The reasons were very different though. Brajesh’s trip to West Champaran in Bihar was quite an adventurous one. The thick wild woods spread over 900 sq km are safe haven for the dacoits. River Gandak passes by peacefully, as if trying to digest the changes happened over the last century. A dread that he was, memory of the dacoit Laloo Yadav, still haunts the jungles of West Champaran. Laloo was killed in an STF operation. The gangs of dacoits are today headed by Ramakant Yadav. Meeting Ramakant was an exercise in itself. His den or `Adda` as it is popularly called, is inaccessible till you are with an informer or a member of his gang. Ramakant Yadav`s coterie thrives on the business of kidnapping. Irrespective of one`s financial status, you will be kidnapped. They will extract their `remuneration` any which way. In cash, if you are rich. And in kind (read land), if you don`t have cash. But the Special Task Force plays a vital role here. Situation could have been worse, if not for the vigilant STF. The force has informers right amidst the gang of bandits. But lack of communication works as a deterrent in uprooting the terror completely. Our special correspondent witnessed one such operation of nabbing the bandits. But the effort turned out to be futile. By the time, the force reached the suspicious den, bandits had already escaped. Champaran, provincially, is a perfect refuge for the bandits. Apart from thickly covered with dense forests, the district is also delineated by Nepal and UP. So, before the STF prepares itself to seize the bandits, they flee to the bordering state. Haggard by regular dacoities and kidnappings, the villagers have formed their own security crew. Known as `Gram Suraksha Dal`, the group consists of young men equipped with modern weapons. Regular encounters... Forces at vigil... Alert villagers... Champaran is surely not what Gandhi had called it once - the land of Ahimsa. And however may one try, terror pervading in the area cannot be ignored. Will Champaran ever be what Gandhi perceived it to be or will it remain the "Mini Chambal"? A million dollar question indeed!
Programme: Special Correspondent
Telecast: Saturday (Aug 9) at 9:30 pm Thursday (Aug 14) at 4:30 pm
"That day in Champaran was an unforgettable event in my life...It is no exaggeration, but the literal truth, to say that in this meeting with the peasants I was face to face with God, Ahimsa and Truth."
... M. K. Gandhi. The land of God, Ahimsa and Truth? That must have been decades back. Ironically, Champaran is the land of dacoits today, and thankfully, of some brave fighters who are hell-bent on clearing this land of them. An exclusive episode on the bandits of Champaran is to be aired on Saturday at 9:30 pm in our programme "Special Correspondent" on ZEE NEWS. Our special correspondent Brajesh Mishra vouched by what Gandhi had said about the day in Champaran, of the day being an unforgettable one. The reasons were very different though. Brajesh’s trip to West Champaran in Bihar was quite an adventurous one. The thick wild woods spread over 900 sq km are safe haven for the dacoits. River Gandak passes by peacefully, as if trying to digest the changes happened over the last century. A dread that he was, memory of the dacoit Laloo Yadav, still haunts the jungles of West Champaran. Laloo was killed in an STF operation. The gangs of dacoits are today headed by Ramakant Yadav. Meeting Ramakant was an exercise in itself. His den or `Adda` as it is popularly called, is inaccessible till you are with an informer or a member of his gang. Ramakant Yadav`s coterie thrives on the business of kidnapping. Irrespective of one`s financial status, you will be kidnapped. They will extract their `remuneration` any which way. In cash, if you are rich. And in kind (read land), if you don`t have cash. But the Special Task Force plays a vital role here. Situation could have been worse, if not for the vigilant STF. The force has informers right amidst the gang of bandits. But lack of communication works as a deterrent in uprooting the terror completely. Our special correspondent witnessed one such operation of nabbing the bandits. But the effort turned out to be futile. By the time, the force reached the suspicious den, bandits had already escaped. Champaran, provincially, is a perfect refuge for the bandits. Apart from thickly covered with dense forests, the district is also delineated by Nepal and UP. So, before the STF prepares itself to seize the bandits, they flee to the bordering state. Haggard by regular dacoities and kidnappings, the villagers have formed their own security crew. Known as `Gram Suraksha Dal`, the group consists of young men equipped with modern weapons. Regular encounters... Forces at vigil... Alert villagers... Champaran is surely not what Gandhi had called it once - the land of Ahimsa. And however may one try, terror pervading in the area cannot be ignored. Will Champaran ever be what Gandhi perceived it to be or will it remain the "Mini Chambal"? A million dollar question indeed!