Chitrakoot votes: No bandit footprint for 1st time in Bundelkhand's bandlands

PRAYAGRAJ: With the elimination of notorious bandit Udaybhan Yadav alias Gauri Yadav by UP special task force police last year, this will be the first polls in the hilly terrains of Chitrakoot, when large swathes of Bundelkhand will vote without the shadow of brigands or their diktats. Residents of the district comprising two assembly seats - Chitrakoot Sadar and Manikpur - will seal the fate of poll aspirants on Sunday.
Last year, STF gunned down the region's lone bandit, Gauri Yadav, at Belhari village near Madho Bandha forest area in Bahilpurwa police limits of Chitrakoot.
The slain dacoit carried a Rs 5.5-lakh bounty, including Rs 5 lakh by Uttar Pradesh Police and Rs 50,000 by MP Police. He lorded over the forested area and built his wealth through extortions.
Deputy SP, STF, Navendu Kumar admitted wiping out the gang of Gauri Yadav had helped free the hilly terrains of Bundelkhand straddling UP and MP of decades-old reign of terror.
Police claimed this will be the first elections in four decades when polls in this treacherous terrain won't carry the footprint of bandits.
Chiktrakoot's rogue's gallery has names of several slain dacoits who unleashed an uninterrupted reign of terror since Independence.
They include Shiv Kumar alias Dadua, Ambika Patel alias Thokia alias Doctor and others, who influenced the outcome of elections through diktats.
However, UP police eliminated Dadua in July 22, 2007, gunned down Ambika Patel alias Thokia on August 4, 2008, shot Sundar Lal alias Ramsiya Patel on December 24, 2011, Sudesh Patel alias Balkharia on July 15, 2015 and Baluli Kol and Lovlesh Kol on September 15, 2019, in the hilly areas straddling UP and MP.
Karvi resident, L K Kushwaha, principal of a primary school said, "Gone are the days when dacoits would threaten villagers, including teachers deputed in primary and upper primary school in hilly areas. Many teachers were abducted for ransom and some were shot in cold blood by the dacoits. After the elimination of Gauri Yadav last year, residents of over 40 bandit-hit villages can heave a sigh of relief."
Pahari resident A K Pandey says "Bandits in the hilly terrain had political clout. Be it Dadua or Balkharia, they all had political connections and enjoyed patronage.
During Mayawati's regime (2007-2012), the state government launched a major offensive against brigands and top guns like Dadua, Thokia, and Balkhariya were gunned down in encounters. Splinter gangs did make a futile attempt to continue their terror reign and also failed to garner political mileage. Finally, they too fell to bullets."