People in the villages of Bagaha either supported the dacoits or opposed them. There were villagers who patrolled their fields with arms to avoid the assault of dacoits. Others provided shelter and information about the movements of the Police. Local officer in-charges who were smart enough also struck deals with the dacoits to not commit crimes in their jurisdiction. The dacoits ran gangs with 40 to 50 supporters and porters. They camped along the remote diaras during police operations, and also hid in the bushes and the vast Sugarcane fields to avoid showing their presence. As time passed during ambushes laid for arresting the Dacoits in the Sugarcane Fields, it was found that a large area of Government Land and also Land captured from farmers who could not afford to farm in the diara due to the influence of dacoits, was being cultivated by dacoits. The illegal cultivation of Sugarcane afforded the gangs with a steady source of income. A total of about 320 acres of land was found being cultivated by the dacoit gangs. 

The Bagaha operation started. A police camp was set up in the Nainaha Reta, which was the stronghold of the dacoit gangs, and frequently used by the ganglord Vasudeo. Vasudeo was the oldest dacoit operating in the area and had crossed 60 already. Still there were local legends about him which were prevalent in the area. People claimed that he could hide himself in water for hours to avoid being caught by the police and similar ones. He was an expert in taking cover. This was also experienced during my tenure when acting on a secret information of his presence in a Flat in Delhi, a raid was carried out on accurate information, but Vasudeo was not found. Later it was revealed that he had hid himself in the water storage tank of the Flat.

To be continued...