Gandhi drove to the house of victim Vishram Singh Dohre, 52, and spent an hour talking to the surviving members and elders of the village. The dacoits were allegedly from a nearby village.

A police station 500 metres away from Dohre’s house could not come to the rescue of his wife Longsri, son Arjun, daughter-in-law Soni and grandson Rinku.

Dohre was an activist of a dacoit reformist movement called the Chambal Ghati Vinoba Bhave Mission, and was repeatedly threatened in the past for his reform work. But some locals alleged that Dohre was involved in a land dispute.

UP Congress Committee chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who is accompanying Gandhi, said a Rs 2.5 lakh compensation will be given to the family.

“Women in the village told Gandhi about insecurity in the Chambal belt due to dacoits and also due to a lack of political will to combat the menace,” Joshi said.

Gandhi also held a discussion with the villagers and asked them about the extent of dacoit terror in the region. “He asked us to put forward a united front against the dacoits and promised all help from his side to fight terror,” said Asharam, a villager.

Gandhi also stopped his motorcade a few meters away from the village and walked to a potato field to spend some time with the farmers. Sitting down in the field, he also shared lunch with a farmer before leaving the village.

“He asked us if we have some food to share with him. We offered him chapaties with chutney,” said Askari Begum, a villager. 

Meanwhile, UP Chief Minister Mayawati and Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav too had visited the village in the past two days.

The UP police have not released any formal comment on the case, but claimed that they have arrested a person in this connection.