LUCKNOW: Known as ‘Raja’ (king), Daku Man Singh ruled the unforgiving ravines of Chambal between 1939 and 1955. While the government kept hunting for him to hold him answerable for dacoity, loot and murders, the people revered him. Such was his hold that to this day, people of the region revere him as a god. A temple in Kheda Rathore village of Agra district stands as a testament to their faith the in ‘baaghi’.
When he was active, Man Singh’s writ ran unchallenged across six districts of Uttar Pradesh, five districts of Madhya Pradesh and even parts of Rajasthan. The dacoit chieftain went into the annals of history as India’s ‘Robin Hood’.Today, the people of Kheda Rathore regularly visit the temple which holds deities of Singh and his wife Rukmani Devi.
Although Singh’s list of crimes is long are terrorising, the legend around his persona in the region remains that of a saviour and leader. Folklore says Man Singh first picked up the gun in 1939 to fight tormentors who had grabbed his land. Then began a saga of bloodshed and loot which continued unhampered till 1955.
Local stories say Singh went on to form a gang of 17, the majority of whom were from his family. After Singh was killed by security forces in a shootout in 1955, Roop Narain, a Brahmin and close confidante, took over the reins of his gang and expanded it further.