Cop Manmohan Kumar on Phoolan Devi and the Etawah-Chambal belt dacoit gangs, in Uttar Pradesh

From the archive record

Cop Manmohan Kumar sits in the chamber office of M K Bashal and tells us of Phoolan Devi. "There is a Beehad or ravine across the rivers in the bordering places of Etawah, Auriya, Jalon in Uttar Pradesh which touches the boundaries of Madhya Pradesh. Six gangs of dacoits are operating right now. You have heard the name of Phoolan Devi, Lala Ram gang. Lala Ram is around 50 -55 years old. Ram Asre and Fakkad gang it is a Brahmin gang one is Rajjan Gujjar Gang then there is a Raju gang he is a Thakur. The complexion of gangs are mostly on caste lines and so do their rivalry. In olden days, around 20 years before who used to rob people of nearby villages which can be said as a technical robbery but now this has changed with time now these gangs kidnap people and demand extortion money. Normal