<p>By the time boys in this Delhi village turn 13 or 14, many of them begin pestering their parents to rechristen them. They prefer names like ‘Fauzi’ and ‘Balraj’ to their “unexciting” names.</p>.<p>Fauzi and Balraj, leaders of warring gangs, belonged to the Mitraon village in Najafgarh. Mitraon is located just six kilometres from Dichaon Kalan, the native village of Bharat Singh, an ex-MLA who was shot dead a few days ago. Notorious for gang wars, Mitraon has seen over two dozen of its men killed in less than two decades as gangs led by the two clashed with each other over a few acres of land.<br /><br />But as men fell to rival gangs’ bullets, Fauzi, Balraj and a few others turned into “legends” for the younger generation in Mitraon. Now, as boys climb the teenage ladder, they begin idolising these gangsters who have left behind them a trail of crime and hatred in this village.<br /><br />As years went by, the gangs multiplied. According to different estimates, there are 12-15 small and big gangs – with their origins in Mitraon – operating in the Najafgarh area. The smallest of these gangs consist of at least four members. The bigger ones such as those led by the likes of the notorious Naveen Khati have over 50 men.<br /><br />“Young members belonging to big gangs broke off to start their own small gangs with two or three other criminals as soon as they committed a crime of note or displayed great courage,” says Inder Singh, a retired government school teacher in Mitraon.<br /><br />“The village lacks ample job opportunities and the youngsters realise they can earn big money and live the lavish life if they take to crime. They also dream of a political career through this route,” adds Singh.<br /><br />The availability of plenty of property in these rural regions of Delhi promises big money to these criminals who readily indulge in land-grabbing. Apart from that, there is plenty coming in from businessmen in terms of extortion as the community offers little resistance to the gangsters. “Kamzor dil waale (those with a weak heart)” are the general targets.<br /><br />“In our village we do not keep count of innocents killed by the gangs. We are too occupied counting the deaths of our village men, killed by each other,” says a resident Ishwar Singh. Since New Year's Eve, six persons belonging to Mitraon village have already been killed in gang wars.<br /><br />Believed to be at least two centuries old, the village is not a friendly place despite its name which means welcoming to friends. After Bharat Singh’s murder, SLR-armed policemen have been deployed at five locations in this village. The streets wear a deserted look even in the daytime and there is little movement outside after darkness sets in.<br /><br />The Jat community is in the majority in the village that has a population in excess of 12,000. Not surprisingly then, much of the existing gangs consist of Jats. “People from other communities try to keep away from crime. They wouldn’t survive in any case if they indulged in all this,” says Surajbhan Shastri, a 65-year-old resident of Mitraon.<br /><br />Non-natives and members of other castes agree. “I lower my gaze and travel between home and work. That is the only way to survive in this village,” says Prakash Anand, a native of Bihar who has been living in Mitraon for the past 10 years. <br /><br />Village elders concede they were indifferent when it all began and say they should have done enough to quell the egos of the younger generation in time.<br /><br />The elders, who claim to have little to do with the existing gang war, spend their time playing cards or smoking hookah at common points in the village. “The boys kill each other, but we elders try to keep our bonds intact. We attend weddings in each other’s families even as our sons are part of rival gangs,” says 65-year-old Shastri who claims no one from his family is into crime.<br /><br />Bad reputation<br />But the village’s image has taken a major hit even among some neighbouring villages.<br />“When we visit other villages, people ask us about the crime situation back home. People resist from marrying their girls to men in our village due to fear of early widowhood,” says Shastri.<br /><br />One Mitraon villager looked around for two years before he could find a groom for his daughter. <br /><br />The girl was a government school teacher, but the likely grooms' parents did not want to have any relations with a family of criminals, say villagers.<br /><br />Unable to exercise control over their children, more and more parents today in Mitraon village are sending their young children to boarding schools in other cities, if only that can keep them away from the crime world. “Staying jobless is a sure route to entry into some gang,” says Inder Singh.<br /><br />Some parents have even been taking control over the TV remotes. <br />“The boys liken the village gangsters to characters in Bollywood films in which orphans rise from the railway tracks to rule over the crime world. The boys then want to imitate gangsters whom they see arriving in the village in SUVs with armed bodyguards around them,” says Shastri.</p>
<p>By the time boys in this Delhi village turn 13 or 14, many of them begin pestering their parents to rechristen them. They prefer names like ‘Fauzi’ and ‘Balraj’ to their “unexciting” names.</p>.<p>Fauzi and Balraj, leaders of warring gangs, belonged to the Mitraon village in Najafgarh. Mitraon is located just six kilometres from Dichaon Kalan, the native village of Bharat Singh, an ex-MLA who was shot dead a few days ago. Notorious for gang wars, Mitraon has seen over two dozen of its men killed in less than two decades as gangs led by the two clashed with each other over a few acres of land.<br /><br />But as men fell to rival gangs’ bullets, Fauzi, Balraj and a few others turned into “legends” for the younger generation in Mitraon. Now, as boys climb the teenage ladder, they begin idolising these gangsters who have left behind them a trail of crime and hatred in this village.<br /><br />As years went by, the gangs multiplied. According to different estimates, there are 12-15 small and big gangs – with their origins in Mitraon – operating in the Najafgarh area. The smallest of these gangs consist of at least four members. The bigger ones such as those led by the likes of the notorious Naveen Khati have over 50 men.<br /><br />“Young members belonging to big gangs broke off to start their own small gangs with two or three other criminals as soon as they committed a crime of note or displayed great courage,” says Inder Singh, a retired government school teacher in Mitraon.<br /><br />“The village lacks ample job opportunities and the youngsters realise they can earn big money and live the lavish life if they take to crime. They also dream of a political career through this route,” adds Singh.<br /><br />The availability of plenty of property in these rural regions of Delhi promises big money to these criminals who readily indulge in land-grabbing. Apart from that, there is plenty coming in from businessmen in terms of extortion as the community offers little resistance to the gangsters. “Kamzor dil waale (those with a weak heart)” are the general targets.<br /><br />“In our village we do not keep count of innocents killed by the gangs. We are too occupied counting the deaths of our village men, killed by each other,” says a resident Ishwar Singh. Since New Year's Eve, six persons belonging to Mitraon village have already been killed in gang wars.<br /><br />Believed to be at least two centuries old, the village is not a friendly place despite its name which means welcoming to friends. After Bharat Singh’s murder, SLR-armed policemen have been deployed at five locations in this village. The streets wear a deserted look even in the daytime and there is little movement outside after darkness sets in.<br /><br />The Jat community is in the majority in the village that has a population in excess of 12,000. Not surprisingly then, much of the existing gangs consist of Jats. “People from other communities try to keep away from crime. They wouldn’t survive in any case if they indulged in all this,” says Surajbhan Shastri, a 65-year-old resident of Mitraon.<br /><br />Non-natives and members of other castes agree. “I lower my gaze and travel between home and work. That is the only way to survive in this village,” says Prakash Anand, a native of Bihar who has been living in Mitraon for the past 10 years. <br /><br />Village elders concede they were indifferent when it all began and say they should have done enough to quell the egos of the younger generation in time.<br /><br />The elders, who claim to have little to do with the existing gang war, spend their time playing cards or smoking hookah at common points in the village. “The boys kill each other, but we elders try to keep our bonds intact. We attend weddings in each other’s families even as our sons are part of rival gangs,” says 65-year-old Shastri who claims no one from his family is into crime.<br /><br />Bad reputation<br />But the village’s image has taken a major hit even among some neighbouring villages.<br />“When we visit other villages, people ask us about the crime situation back home. People resist from marrying their girls to men in our village due to fear of early widowhood,” says Shastri.<br /><br />One Mitraon villager looked around for two years before he could find a groom for his daughter. <br /><br />The girl was a government school teacher, but the likely grooms' parents did not want to have any relations with a family of criminals, say villagers.<br /><br />Unable to exercise control over their children, more and more parents today in Mitraon village are sending their young children to boarding schools in other cities, if only that can keep them away from the crime world. “Staying jobless is a sure route to entry into some gang,” says Inder Singh.<br /><br />Some parents have even been taking control over the TV remotes. <br />“The boys liken the village gangsters to characters in Bollywood films in which orphans rise from the railway tracks to rule over the crime world. The boys then want to imitate gangsters whom they see arriving in the village in SUVs with armed bodyguards around them,” says Shastri.</p>
