Bhopal– Malkhan Singh (80), who in the late ’70s and early ’80s was the biggest headache for the Madhya Pradesh government and the police for being one of the most dreaded dacoits of Chambal, is now pursuing a career in politics.
He again made headlines on Wednesday after his wife — Lalita Singh — was elected unopposed as the Sarpanch of Suganayi village in Guna district.
Not only Lalita, but all the 12 ward members of the village were women candidates who were elected unopposed.
Malkhan Singh had also filed his nomination for the post of Sarpanch. However, he withdrew his name later as the people of Suganayi together decided to elect a woman for the post of Sarpanch.
The villagers made this unanimous decision to nominate only women candidates because by doing so, the village will get a reward Rs 15 lakh from the state government which could be used for construction of roads and setting up water facilities.
On May 28, the State Election Commission had announced the schedule for the panchayat polls in end June following which Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced of a slew of incentives for the gram panchayats that will not only elect their heads and members unopposed, but elect women as Sarpanch and ward members (Panch).
Chouhan had announced that the villages that would elect their Sarpanch unopposed will get Rs 5 lakh, while those which elect their Sarpanch unopposed for a second term will get Rs 7 lakh.
Similarly, the village panchayats that elect their Sarpanch and ward members unopposed will also get Rs 7 lakh.
Chouhan had announced a bigger bonanza of Rs 12 lakh for village panchayats, where only women are elected as Sarpanch and ward members, and Rs 15 lakh for the village panchayats which elect them unopposed.
People of Suganayi unanimously decided to grab this opportunity of earning Rs 15 lakh.
Talking to IANS over phone, Malkhan Singh said, “There is shortage of water in our village for which we all suffer. We have decided to dig a pond to increase the water level of our village. Also, there is no road connectivity in our village and during monsoon, children cannot even go to the school. Political leaders only make promises during elections, but do nothing for the development of the village.”
When asked how he feels when people call him ‘Daku Malkhan Singh’, he replied, “People have to say something… But I wasn’t a ‘daku’ (dacoit), but a ‘baaghi’ (rebel). Moreover, that was my past, not the present.”
When asked why he still sports a big moustache and long hair like his earlier persona, Malkhan Singh said, “It is my style and I love it.”
Notably, during his 13-year reign in Chambal, Malkhan Singh’s gang was crowned as the ‘bandit king’ by its rivals. The government had announced a reward of Rs 70,000 for his capture.
In 1982, Malkhan Singh and his gang had surrendered before then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh. At the time of his surrender, he had 94 police cases registered against his name, including 18 for dacoity, 28 for kidnapping, 19 for attempt to murder and 17 cases for murder. (IANS)
