Crimes by Young Toughs Grow Amid Political Violence : Terrorized Indian Villagers Fight Back

One night recently, the people of this small village did something that police officials have sought for years--they stood up and fought back against a gang that had been terrorizing the area.

The village had known political violence--two Hindus were gunned down six months ago--but the main problems had come from young toughs who had gone on a spree of robbery, looting and extortion, often under the cover of politics.

“It went on until they began molesting girls. No one will tolerate this. The moment the boys were identified, there was no other option,” said Mohinder Kaur, 70, mother of the village headman.

The villagers caught two of the boys, took them out into a field and beat them to death.

Almost 2,000 people have been killed in Punjab state this year, and police used to imply that the killings were connected to the Sikh independence movement. They now admit that much of the violence, robbery and extortion is either traditional settling of scores or a new breakdown of law and order that has accompanied the rise of political violence.

“There never used to be groups like this in the area,” Kawaljit Singh said. “We used to bicycle into the city and watch movies and return. There was never any trouble. Now the looters and others have come.”

Tarn Taran district Police Supt. Sanjiv Gupta said there have been several other incidents in recent months in which villagers have fought back. In each case, the village has received an award of 100,000 rupees ($7,000) and individuals 20,000 rupees ($1,400).

Police officials suggested that they are also trying to change tactics, realizing that some of the heavy-handedness of the past may have contributed to terrorism.

In a number of recent cases, police said that young men went off to join militant groups after inadvertently coming into contact with the groups and then became fearful that this contact would cause the police to come after them. This fear, driving youths into insurgency, was a legacy of the unbridled use of emergency powers by police, not known for restraint even in normal times.

One of the most blatant tactics--the use of police-sponsored counterterror gangs--apparently has been abandoned.

“We are making the maximum efforts to make sure we treat people properly. No false encounters,” Gupta said.