Bhopal: Kadia, Gulkhedi, and Hulkhedi are three distant and obscure villages in Madhya Pradesh that have been brutally brought to the limelight of being ‘nurseries’ for crime. These villages are situated at around 117 KMs from Bhopal in Rajgarh district. One of the worst pitfalls of the school system has made a group of villages infamous for training children in theft, robbery and dacoity.
In these areas, the police are even advised to approach them cautiously. Kids of 12 or 13 years are taken to these villages by parents who go looking for the gang lord to ask which gang can give them the best ‘education’ in criminal activities. For the child to be taught these sickening life lessons of robbery, parents are willing to fork out anything between ₹2 lakh and ₹3 lakh.
The criminal training involves pickpocketing, snatching bags in crowded areas, running very fast, avoiding police arrest, and handling severe beating from the police upon arrest. As for paying the child’s family the annual amount in the range of ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakhs, it occurs after one year of training under the gang leaders.
Such villages have brought forth some of the best pickpockets, and their escapades are featured in daily newspapers all over India. A case that drew much public attention was on the 8th of August when a petty thief made away with a bag that had ₹1. 5 crore and 1 lakh in cash at a wedding ceremony at Hyatt Hotel in Jaipur. This miscreant chose to strike when the bride and groom’s families celebrated – when the groom’s mother was momentarily occupied and left her handbag unlocked. The thief, associated with the Rajgarh gangs, escaped to Kadiya village and threw the stolen items before merging with the Kanwar Yatra procession. But the police immediately apprehended the thief and brought to light other members of his gang.
Another one is Ravindra Sisodia, 24, who stole jewellery at a wedding in Gurgaon in March. Yash Sisodia, 22, was involved in a similar theft in Delhi in December 2023, apart from 18 former cases across various states.
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