Chambal's terror Rambabu slain in encounter

Gwalior, Apr 17 (UNI) Dacoit chieftain Rambabu Gadaria, who carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh, was shot dead this morning during an encounter in Kanerkho forest on the Shivpuri-Ashok Nagar district border less than a year after his elder brother Dayaram met a similar fate.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP state unit President Narendra Singh Tomar congratulated the Madhya Pradesh Police on the success.

The Gadaria gang's worst strike took place on the morning of October 29, 2004 in Gwalior district's Mohna Police Station area.

The fatal bullets flew near the Goreghat Hanuman shrine when the gang emerged from months-long dormancy and gunned down 13 villagers suspecting them of being informers. The almost chilling replay of the 1981 Behmai massacre was the worst such episode in this state's history.

Incidentally, the Gadarias' sister Ramshri Baghel contested the March bypoll in Gwalior Lok Sabha constituency as the Rashtriya Samanta Dal nominee and bagged more than 50,000 votes.

Rambabu's elimination sounded the death knell for the Gadaria gang that had a reign of terror in Gwalior-Chambal region for a decade. The gang, which carried a total reward of Rs 15 lakh, was led by Rambabu (about 40 years old) and Dayaram (about 45) who was slain in August 2006.

Dayaram used to hatch plans for abduction and other crimes.

Unlike other dacoits operating in Chambal, the Gadarias did not interact with media. The brothers were married.

''Three of Rambabu's accomplices managed to flee today. The gang was already decimated by previous elimination and arrests. In an effort to rejuvenate the outfit, Rambabu invited a few locals having criminal background for a meeting at Kanerkho prior to a crime,'' Inspector-General (Gwalior Range) Sarabjit Singh told UNI.

Following a tip-off, DIG (Gwalior Range) Adarsh Katiyar and Shivpuri's Superintendent of Police Sajid Farid Shapu led a team that set up a cordon.

A .315-bore foreign-make gun and cartridges were subsequently seized from the site. Mr Singh congratulated the officers and other personnel involved in the encounter.

Meanwhile at Bhopal, Director-General of Police Anand Rao Pawar said, ''major bandit gangs operating in Gwalior-Chambal region now stand eliminated. The personnel involved will be rewarded.'' A photograph found at the site depicted Rambabu with a modern young woman who sports a red scarf round her neck and whose identity is being ascertained. The body was clad in T-shirt and jeans.

Rambabu was clean shaven and with trimmed hair, a marked departure from the bandit's earlier khaki uniform and flowing tresses.

Rambabu, who committed most crimes on either Tuesdays or Saturdays, was ironically killed on a Tuesday. Abductees who were earlier freed from the bandits' clutches revealed that both brothers were superstitious, worshipped before setting out for every crime and offered brass bells to temples. Rambabu was slightly hard of hearing and short-tempered.

UNI