Bawariya gangs give up katchcha-baniyan to make good their escape

Vijay Upadhyay

Agra. The notorious Bawariya gangs of Rajasthan have for long been feared by the residents of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh where they are known as the katchha-baniyan gangs for their sartorially risque style.

Each year, the Bawariya gangs move out of refuge in the border areas of Rajasthan in the months of April and May and raid the residents of the neighbouring states. Scores of people are left injured or dead by these gangs that move about on he fringes of the cities in large groups targeting easy pickings in the warm summer nights.

The only feature that distinguishes these marauding gangs from the common city criminals is their preference for dressing in a white vest and striped cotton knickers, terming it a sacrilege if they have to venture out of their homes in any other garb.

After years of looting and murdering in this traditional outfit the kutchha-baniyan gangs are reverting to more traditional forms of clothing to prevent detection by the police, it now includes dressing up like women immediately after an 'outing" to prevent detection.

This fact came to light on Friday, when a group of Bawariyas attacked a village in Fatehpur Sikri on the border of Bharatpur in Rajasthan. Searching the areas surrounding the village, the villagers came upon a woman crouching in a field in the dead of night, who, upon interrogation, was found to be a man who confessed to being a member of the Bawariya gang. The man was immediately handed over to the police along with two other accomplices.

Agra police sources confirmed that there have been reports of Bawariyas disguising themselves as women immediately after a loot, taking advantage of the fact that in villages, women can be usually seen moving about in small groups in night.