In the second episode of Dainik Bhaskar's election series 'Massacre', today is the story of the Dalelchak Baghaura massacre, after which the Congress, which ruled Bihar for 40 years, could never make its CM again...
One night of May 29, 1987. Location – Aurangabad district of Bihar. The same Aurangabad where the country’s only west-facing Sun Temple is located. A crowd of about 500 people was advancing, chanting the slogan ‘MCC Zindabad’. They had guns, axes, sickles, and cans of kerosene oil in their hands.
After a while, everyone stopped at one place. They talked for a bit. Then half of them started moving towards Baghaura village and the other half towards Dalelchak. Both villages are one kilometer apart. Here, the Rajputs had dominance.
Gaya Singh of Baghaura was the head clerk in the forest department. He had the only concrete house in the village. He had built it with passion. The eyes would stop at the gateway from afar.
Around 8 PM, suddenly some noise was heard. When he opened the door and looked, a crowd of 200-300 people was standing in front.
Gaya Singh hastily closed the door. They hadn’t even taken two steps when the crowd pushed and broke the door. First, the men of the house were dragged out and lined up. Meanwhile, two boys tried to escape unnoticed, but the attackers fired shots. Both fell right there. The attacker went near them. Their breaths hadn’t completely stopped yet. He struck a machete on the neck. Then, wiping his sweat, he said- ‘What are you looking at… go and bring their women.’
20-25 attackers entered and started throwing women and children outside. Everyone was screaming- ‘Don’t kill us. Let us go. We beg you.’
One attacker spoke up- ‘#&#$% these people show a lot of arrogance. They make our women work. Dishonor their women in front of them. Only then will the revenge be complete.’
The attackers pounced on the women and girls. They tore their clothes. They began to rape them. After a while, a middle-aged man spoke up- ‘Enough. Now kill them all.’
The attackers dragged the women into the veranda. They placed their necks on the cot and pressed hard. One attacker picked up an axe and one by one beheaded the five women. Blood spread all over the veranda.
The attacker said- ‘Dispose of them all.’
8-10 people started digging a pit in front of the house with shovels. In a short time, the pit was ready. The attackers put the women’s bodies in the pit and filled it with soil.
‘Now tie these #@$%*& and take them to the banyan tree. The villagers should also see what happens when they clash with us.’ Hearing this, the attackers tied the hands and feet of Gaya Singh and his family members. They dragged them to the banyan tree. There was a large banyan tree at the beginning of the village.
30 May 1987, Dalelchak Baghaura village. Rajputs were killed by tying them to this banyan tree. Source: Library
30 May 1987, Dalelchak Baghaura village. Rajputs were killed by tying them to this banyan tree. Source: Library
By now, there was chaos in the village. The attackers were dragging women, men, and children from Rajput families one by one to the banyan tree.
Many people were jumping from the roofs and running towards the fields. The attackers were continuously firing. Some people were killed on the spot.
A 40-year-old man was returning home with a tractor. Seeing the attackers, he screamed, ‘Oh uncle, we are not Rajputs. We work at their house. We are Harijans, Harijans.’
#$%@#$ Lying… saying this, a middle-aged man struck him on the back with an axe. Two attackers tied him to the seat of the tractor. Then they poured a can of kerosene oil on the tractor and set it on fire. Within minutes, the driver died in agony.
Meanwhile, in the nearby village of Dalelchak, Kamla Kunwar had just returned from her in-laws’ house a few hours earlier. Her father was preparing for a feast. Guests had already arrived. Suddenly, the dogs started barking. Kamla said to her sister Lalita- ‘Go and see who is outside?’
Lalita peeked and saw hundreds of armed men advancing towards the village. She screamed- ‘Papa, Mummy, everyone run, the Naxalites have come.’
Both sisters, their parents, and other relatives started running towards the fields. Just then, the people next door stopped them. They said- ‘You people are not in any danger. Just hide in the house.’
Within minutes, the crowd stormed into the village. They entered the Rajputs’ houses and started a massacre. Kamla and Lalita hid in a pile of hay behind the house. The rest of the family and relatives were caught. A two-year-old child was sleeping on the bed. He started crying upon seeing the crowd.
The attacker shouted – ‘Kill this bastard first.’
As soon as he heard this, a middle-aged man picked up the child and threw him on the threshold. His head split open. The attacker grabbed the child by the hair and lifted him. Another struck the child’s neck with an axe. The child’s head remained in the attacker’s hand, and the body fell to the ground.
30 May 1987, the children of the Dalelchak Baghaura massacre whose entire families were killed in the massacre. Source: Library
30 May 1987, the children of the Dalelchak Baghaura massacre whose entire families were killed in the massacre. Source: Library
One pointed towards the women and said, ‘Violate their honor and finish them off.’ The attackers did just that. After raping, they beheaded the women and girls.
Kamla’s father could not bear to see this. He charged at the attackers, cursing them, but they caught him. Two attackers held his legs and two held his arms. A 20-year-old boy struck him in the stomach with an axe. He screamed. Then the attacker shoved the butt of a gun into his mouth. Within minutes, he was writhing in pain and then went silent.
Now one attacker said, ‘Don’t waste time. Tie up all the men and take them to the banyan tree.’
The attackers tied the hands and feet of all the men with ropes and started dragging them towards the same banyan tree. There was a similar chaos in the other houses of Dalelchak. The attackers raped the women and girls and then killed them in the house itself. Meanwhile, the men were tied up and made to sit near the banyan tree.
The attackers had captured around 40-50 people from both Dalelchak and Baghaura villages and kept them here.
In a short while, the attackers tied everyone to the banyan tree. These people were screaming loudly – save us, save us. But there was no one to listen. The non-Rajputs of the village had closed their doors.
By now it was 9 o’clock at night. The leader of the attackers said – ‘Cut these @#$%$#@ into pieces.’
The crowd attacked with axes and sickles. Within minutes, dozens of half-cut bodies were hanging from the banyan tree.
Then, firing into the air, one of the attackers said – ‘Go set their houses on fire. Those who are hiding will also burn to death.’
The crowd selectively set fire to the houses of Rajputs in both villages. Then, shouting the slogan ‘MCC Zindabad. Avenged Chechani. Revenge is complete,’ the attackers left.
The picture is from May 30, 1987. Mutilated bodies were lying near the banyan tree outside Dalechak Baghaura village. Source: Library
The picture is from May 30, 1987. Mutilated bodies were lying near the banyan tree outside Dalechak Baghaura village. Source: Library
The Madanpur police station is just three kilometers away from the village. The rumble of the crowd, the screams of the people, and the echo of gunshots had reached the station, but the police could not muster the courage to leave.
About 2 hours later, five policemen set out for the village. Another team of police from the neighboring station reached Dalechak. Shortly thereafter, Aurangabad’s SP Satish Jha also arrived. Tall flames were still visible from the houses in both villages.
SP Satish Jha and the other police officers were engaged in extinguishing the fire. They were going door to door asking for water, but no one opened the door. Meanwhile, SP heard the sound of some people groaning.
He ran in that direction with the police officers. He turned on the torch. He saw a 4-year-old child wrapped in a blanket sobbing in a corner. A little distance away, a 20-25-year-old boy was hiding in a pile of hay. They took both of them out.
Meanwhile, the news of the massacre had reached Patna. That night itself, DGP Shashibhushan Sahay and IG Lalit Vijay Singh left for Dalechchak Baghaura, but there was no paved road to reach the village. It took them a long time to arrive. Meanwhile, the police were busy extinguishing the fire all night, but the fire showed no signs of dying down.
It was now 5 in the morning. One by one, the bodies began to be counted. Near the banyan tree, 29 mutilated bodies were found. Heads were scattered on the ground and the rest of the bodies were tied to the banyan tree. The entire ground was soaked in blood. It looked like a slaughterhouse. The police searched each house in both villages. 26 bodies were found. Most of them were women and children.
A total of 55 people were killed. 54 Rajputs and one Harijan. There were 7 families in which no one was left alive.
This was the largest caste massacre in Bihar after independence. The Maoist organization Maoist Communist Centre, or MCC, was accused. At that time, the Congress government was in power at the center and Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister. The government in Bihar was also of Congress and Bindeshwari Dubey was the Chief Minister.
May 30, 1987, bodies of people killed in the massacre in Dalelchak Baghaura village are laid out. Villagers are gathered. Preparations for the funeral are being made. Source: Library
May 30, 1987, bodies of people killed in the massacre in Dalelchak Baghaura village are laid out. Villagers are gathered. Preparations for the funeral are being made. Source: Library
Cremation of an 80-year-old elder and a 6-month-old child on the same pyre
The next day, on May 30, the government conducted a mass funeral for the people killed in the massacre. Many bodies could not be identified. No one came from the homes of many deceased. Perhaps no one was left in their families.
5-7 bodies were placed on each pyre. An 80-year-old elder and a 6-month-old child were cremated on the same pyre. Seeing this scene, the eyes of the people present there and the police officers were filled with tears. People were taking ashes from the burning pyres and applying them as a tilak. Perhaps this tilak was a sign of revenge.
May 30, 1987, the funeral of all 55 people killed in the massacre was held at the same place. 5-7 people were cremated on one pyre. Source: Library
May 30, 1987, the funeral of all 55 people killed in the massacre was held at the same place. 5-7 people were cremated on one pyre. Source: Library
Former CM Karpoori Thakur was pushed by the crowd, saved by a journalist
On the morning of May 31, former Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur reached Dalelchak Baghaura directly from Delhi. In the book ‘The Jananayak Karpoori Thakur’, Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan recalls that incident- ‘I was a magazine reporter. I reached the massacre site at 6 in the morning via Gaya and Aurangabad. I saw Karpoori Thakur standing quietly in a corner.’
In the same book, senior journalist from Patna, Deepak Kumar says- ‘When the crowd started pushing Karpoori, I felt that he could be humiliated. Our eyes met and he sat behind me on my scooter. I took him to Aurangabad Main Road. From there he got into his vehicle and went to Patna.’
Burning houses, deserted villages, massacre scenes made Chief Minister Bindeshwari Dubey cry
On May 31, Chief Minister Bindeshwari Dubey also reached Dalelchak Baghaura. Many houses were still on fire. Fire brigade vehicles were called. Then the fire was extinguished. The Chief Minister was going from house to house, but most of the villagers had fled.
According to the English newspaper Hindustan Times, an elderly man started crying upon seeing the Chief Minister. He had two small children in his lap. He said, ‘Sir, these are my grandchildren. Their parents have been killed. They are the only ones left in the family. How will I take care of them alone?’ Seeing this, the Chief Minister also started crying. After some time, he returned to Patna and announced the next day that a ban would be imposed on the MCC.
In this massacre, MLA Ramlakhan Singh Yadav was also accused. It was said that on April 30, he had gone to a village in Aurangabad, Chhotki Chechani, for the Yadav Mahasabha. The opposition claimed that the Chief Minister had also attended the Yadav Mahasabha.
The MCC had described this massacre as revenge for Chhotki Chechani. Therefore, the opposition was even more aggressive against the government.
On June 5, Janata Party President Chandrashekhar, Ram Vilas Paswan, and Lok Dal’s Ajit Singh reached the village. Due to all these events, the pressure on the CM to resign was continuously increasing. The Janata Party and other opposition parties were demanding the dismissal of the government.
31 May 1987, Chief Minister Bindeshwari Dubey meeting the families of those killed in Dalelchak Baghaura village. Source: Library
31 May 1987, Chief Minister Bindeshwari Dubey meeting the families of those killed in Dalelchak Baghaura village. Source: Library
What exactly happened in Chotki Chechani, for which the Maoists took revenge in Dalelchak Baghaura…
In fact, the Koyal canal was supposed to pass by Baghaura village. This suddenly increased the value of the lands there. The Rajputs claimed these lands, while the Yadavs wanted to take possession. The Naxalite organization MCC was helping the Yadavs.
In Dalechak village, the Mahant of Bodh Gaya owned hundreds of acres of land. The MCC members had taken over some of his lands and were cultivating them through sharecroppers. A dominant Rajput from the village, Ramnaresh Singh, bought 46 acres of land from the Mahant and drove away the sharecroppers. It is said that Ramnaresh was close to Chandrashekhar, who later became a central minister and then the PM.
A few days later, Ramnaresh’s associate Krishna Kahar was murdered. In September 1986, another associate of Ramnaresh was killed. The MCC was accused. Within 10 days, the landlords killed 5-6 MCC workers. The fire of revenge continued to blaze from here. 20 days later, 11 Rajputs were killed in the nearby Darmiya village. Again, the MCC was accused.
After this, the government launched a special operation. The police were increased. Central forces were deployed. The situation remained under control for a few months. Then the administration relaxed. The central forces were sent to Punjab. SP and task force personnel were also called to Patna. In fact, during those days, Punjab was going through a period of extremism. After Operation Blue Star, Indira Gandhi had been assassinated.
On April 19, 1987, Rajput landlord Kedar Singh was murdered. Just two hours after this murder, seven members of the families of Musafir Yadav and Radhe Yadav were killed. Musafir and Radhe Yadav were considered supporters of the MCC.
A few days later, the Naxalites distributed pamphlets in Madanpur market. It was written in them – ‘We will take revenge for seven with seventy.’ And the very next month, a massacre took place in Dalelchak Baghaura.
May-June 1987, the scene of Dalelchak Baghaura village after the massacre. Houses have been burned down. People have fled. Only cattle remain. Source: Library
May-June 1987, the scene of Dalelchak Baghaura village after the massacre. Houses have been burned down. People have fled. Only cattle remain. Source: Library
Resignation of 3 Chief Ministers in two years, Congress never formed a CM again
The opposition was already aggressive regarding this massacre, and different factions within the government were also divided. Former CM Jagannath Mishra was blaming his own CM for negligence. In a hurry, the government removed DGP SB Sahay. The IGP Law and Order was also transferred. The SP of Aurangabad was also changed. But everything was not well within the government.
After this, the CM was called to Delhi. Speculations began in political circles that the Chief Minister would be changed. Finally, on February 13, 1988, Chief Minister Bindeshwari Dubey resigned.
Bhagwat Jha Azad became the Chief Minister, but he was also removed after a year. After this, Satyendra Narayan Singh became the CM. However, after 7 months, in December 1989, he also resigned. Only two to three months were left for the next election. In such a situation, the command of the state was once again given to Jagannath Mishra.
In the 1990 assembly elections, Congress got only 71 seats out of 324. 125 less than the previous election. In the Magadh division, where this massacre took place, Congress could save only 10 out of 26 seats. Whereas in the previous election, it had won 19 seats. That is, Congress lost half of the seats.
Winning 122 seats, Janata Dal formed the government with the help of the Left and independents, and Lalu Yadav became the Chief Minister.
The year 1990, Chief Minister Lalu Yadav with his friends. He used to live in a peon’s quarter then. Source: Times of India
The year 1990, Chief Minister Lalu Yadav with his friends. He used to live in a peon’s quarter then. Source: Times of India
In August 1990, the announcement to implement the recommendations of the Mandal Commission was made, and just two months later, the BJP launched the Ram Rath Yatra. During this time, Lalu arrested BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani in Bihar.
From here, Lalu began to gain the support of both the backward classes and Muslims. On the other hand, due to reservations and the massacres of the upper castes, Congress’s core voters started shifting towards the BJP.
In the 1995 elections, Congress could only win 29 seats. After that, year by year, Congress continued to weaken. The Congress, which ruled Bihar for 40 years, was forced to become the younger brother of RJD. Since then, it has not been able to make a CM, nor has it become the main opposition party.
Attackers 500, Accused 177, 8 Released from Jail after Serving Life Imprisonment
A crowd of 500 people attacked Dalelchak Baghaura village. Out of these, a total of 177 were made accused. In December 1992, the Aurangabad Sessions Court sentenced 8 to death, and the rest were acquitted due to lack of evidence. In 2011, the Supreme Court commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment. This year, all eight accused were released from jail after serving their sentences.
After the massacre, most of the Rajputs left the village. Both villages began to be called ghost villages. Even today, there are only a few Rajput homes in these villages. Many families never returned after the massacre.
Indrabhushan Mishra
Note: (This true story is based on police charge sheet, court judgment, statements of villagers, various books, newspapers, and international reports. It has been written in the form of a story using creative liberty.)
Courtesy : Bhaskar English
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