Dacoits kidnap 6 from MP village,cops cite caste rivalry as reason

Armed dacoits kidnapped six employees of an Indore-based firm from Kachhpura village,about 50 km from Bhind...

Armed dacoits kidnapped six employees of an Indore-based firm from Kachhpura village,about 50 km from Bhind,on Sunday and walked across the Chambal river to disappear into the ravines of Uttar Pradesh. More than 24 hours after the incident,the Madhya Pradesh Police and their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh were clueless about the location of the six hostages and their six captors.

Villagers on the MP side fired a few rounds in the air when they saw the abducted employees being taken away,but could not prevent the dacoits,led by brothers Rajnarayan and Rajkumar,from taking the employees of a private firm hostage. The two brothers hail from MP,but mostly operate in UP.

The employees were engaged in laying pipes for a government scheme in Kanera Gram Panchayat area. The foundation for the Rs 95-crore irrigation scheme had been laid in August 2008.

The employees taken hostage were site in charge Sharad Jhanwar,mechanic Dilip Ojha,gunman Santosh Pachouri,driver Salim,Suresh Maheshwari,Abhimanyu Tripathi. Maheshwari hails from Bhind and his wife is reportedly a member of the BJP. Tripathi,also a site in charge,hails from Gorakhpur.

DIG (Chambal) R B Sharma said the kidnapping was the result of a feud between the Gurjjars and Bhadorias. The firm had engaged only Gurjjars as labourers,before replacing them with Bhadorias. He alleged that the community hired the gang to terrorise the contractor.

The kidnappers had made no demand for ransom till late on Monday. When asked what made the police to conclude the caste angle when the captors had made no demand,Sharma claimed villagers had confirmed the caste rivalry. He alleged the Gurjjar community had given shelter to the gang,which was new and had very few members. Since the scheme involved a lot of money,several contractors had eyed it.

The police said they were in touch with their UP counterparts,but search operations were hampered due to deep ravines.