Phoolan Devi to Paan Singh Tomar: The Real Dacoits of Chambal

Chambal has seen the most notorious dacoit gangs gain prominence in the region.

For decades, the beehads of Chambal were inhabited by the most notorious dacoit gangs, before a police encounter in 2007 ended their reign. Phoolan Devi to Paan Singh Tomar - dacoits have been the subject of Bollywood films for decades. Abhishek Chaubey’s Sonchiriya starring Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar and Manoj Bajpayee brings back dacoit drama, which saw its heyday in the 60s and 70s but seems to have lost favour post the 90s.

The ravines of Chambal covering three states including, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, has seen dacoits take up arms for reasons ranging from helplessness to fighting land grabbing to standing up against a corrupt system.

Phoolan Devi

Best known as ‘Bandit Queen’, Phoolan Devi catapulted to fame after she was rumoured to have massacred 22 Rajputs in Behmai village, as revenge for being captured and gang raped repeatedly by the same men. While she surrendered in 1983 under the Indira Gandhi government, she became Member of Parliament on Samajwadi Party (SP) ticket from Mirzapur in 1996, and was re-elected in 1999. She remained an MP till 2001 when she was assassinated outside her bungalow in Delhi by rival bandits.

Bollywood made a movie is loosely based on her life in Bandit Queen in 1994.

Maan Singh

Daaku Maan Singh, shot died in 1955, is considered to be one of the most feared dacoits in the history of Chambal. Having committed 1,112 robberies and 185 murders (32 of which were police officers), Maan Singh was hailed as a ‘Robin Hood’ by locals. Even Amitabh Bachchan is known to have been in awe of the dacoit. "In my younger days, we were in awe of Daku Man Singh, whose escapades and adventures were common conversation in and around every possible gathering," Amitabh Bachchan wrote in his blog in 2012.

Daku Mansingh, (1971) movie, starring Dara Singh chronicled the rural dacoit fighting the system, although the film was not entirely factual. Today, Maan Singh is worshipped at a pagoda in Khera Rathore.

Paan Singh Tomar

Paan Singh Tomar is an Indian soldier, athlete, and dacoit. A seven-time national steeplechase champion in the 1950s and 1960s, Paan Singh Tomar represented India at the 1958 Asian Games. He later turned to dacoity following a land grabbing feud. He was killed along with 10 members of his gang by a police team of 60 officers.

In 2012, a film titled, Paan Singh Tomar, starring Irrfan Khan, won the National Award.

Malkhan Singh

Malkhan Singh reportedly has 94 police cases registered against him and his gang, including 28 kidnapping cases and 18 cases of dacoity in addition to 17 murder cases and 19 attempt to murder cases. Having surrendered in 1982, Singh began his career in politics and successfully ran panchayat polls.

In 2014, he campaigned for Narendra Modi’s BJP, claiming that he had become a dacoit during the Congress’ reign.

Seema Parihar

Seema Parihar is rumoured to have killed 70 people, kidnapped 200 and robbed 30 houses. She surrendered to the Uttar Pradesh police in 2000. She later showed support to Shiv Sena in the UP Legislative Assembly elections in 2002. She is currently a member of the Samajwadi Party. She is known to have been inspired by the life of Phoolan Devi.

Seema also starred in a film based on her life, Wounded – The Bandit Queen and was a contestant on popular TV show Bigg Boss in 2010.