Chambal’s last woman dacoit faces uncertainty

Bhopal: Chanda Gadaria, the jeans-clad bandit who had once dreamed of reviving the reputation of the Chambal ravines by stepping into the shoes of Phoolan Devi, a dreaded dacoit of her time, is now facing an uncertain future.

Currently lodged in Shivpuri district jail in Madhya Pradesh as an undertrial, the frail looking Chanda (25) has fallen sick and had to be admitted to the hospital frequently.

“She had been ill for the past one month. She was shifted to the district hospital in Shivpuri a couple of days ago and was on Tuesday discharged,” jailor of Shivpuri district jail Mr Dilip Singh told this newspaper.

Contrary to her reputation of being a ruthless bandit, Chanda, arrested in February, 2106, “is known for her good behavior” with the prison staff as well as the inmates of the jail, Mr Singh said. She has been facing charges of abduction for ransom. “I have falsely been implicated by the police. False stories were circulated about me to frame me”, she told the media while being treated in the district hospital of Shivpuri. She also dismissed the claim by the police that slain dacoit Chandan Gadaria, the leader of her gang, was  her husband. “I had been subjected to torture by my father-in-law. I had informed  Chandan, who used to visit my parents’ home, about this. Chandan had then asked me to join his gang to escape the misery,” police quoted her as saying after her arrest last year.