The Last ‘Lewd’ Lion of Chambal: Nirbhay Singh Gujjar

Nirbhay Singh Gujjar was popularly known as the ‘Last Lion of Chambal’ and is widely remembered as the dacoit who over-indulged in sexual pleasures. He was a dacoit who terrorized the country for 25 years before being gunned down in 2005.

Source: Hindu Post | Caption: The Fearful Dacoit, Nirbhay Singh Gujjar

Nirbhay Singh Gujjar, popularly known as the ‘Last Lion of Chambal’, was a powerful dacoit who terrorised the country for 25 years before being shot down by the police in 2005. He had 205 recorded crimes of robbery, murder, kidnapping and rape against him. Having been married three times, while having 2 girlfriends and forcefully marrying his son’s wife too, his story is a tale of immense debauchery, arrogance and violence, yet, it has humble beginnings.

Gujjar was born in 1957 in Jalaun, a small district in Uttar Pradesh, which was marked by the violence and brutality of various dacoits in the region. When he was born, his honest and hardworking parents lovingly named him ‘Nirbhay’, which means fearless, to denote how he would battle such aggressors in the future. Little did they know that he himself would become an aggressor for others. Nirbhay had seven siblings and humble beginnings. His childhood wasn't marked by many material gains but there was enough to feed the family.

When he was five years old, his mama (maternal uncle) visited his father to convince him to move to his village, Gangdaspur, wherein he would provide them with a piece of land which they could use to farm and sustain the family. With this tempting offer, the family made a move.

However, as Nirbhay was growing up, he realised how the villagers routinely hurt his mama and came up with new ways to steal their land. He could not bear this and routinely revolted back. One of these fights was the last straw which made him decide to pick up weapons.

Following this, he committed his first robbery at the age of 25 in this village but alas! He got caught and arrested. While the police inspectors took harsh measures like beating him with sticks, they still could not move his resolve of going down this dark path which only got stronger. So when he was released, he moved back to his original village, Beehad, with the ambition of becoming a dacoit in Lala Ram’s gang.

With his continuous commitment towards robberies and kidnappings, Nirbhay soon rose to become the right-hand man of the gang leader. Drunk on this power, he indulged in many vulgar acts. He used to regularly visit Gangdaspur to loot houses and rape the women he had an eye on. It is said that he had raped over 50 women in his lifespan.

However, a turning point in his life came when he fell in love with Seema Parihar, another dacoit in his gang, who was fond of Gujjar’s bravery and reverted his love. They soon got married and it is said that the giving-away ceremony (Kanyadan) of Parihar was done by Lala Ram himself. However, he still couldn’t get over his old habits. Two years later, when Seema visited a nearby village, she was told how Nirbhay used to come there and rape women even after his marriage. Infuriated at this, she got Nirbhay expelled from the gang.

This did not put a halt to his ambitions and for four years, he joined different gangs until he finally started his own gang in 1970. Owing to his connections and network, he was able to recruit over 70 people at the drop of a hat. He kept growing more powerful and acquiring more money and modern weapons but was still virtually unreachable to the police.

After separating from Seema, Nirbhay kidnapped and married his second wife Neelam. He also wanted to pass down his ‘legacy’ so he kidnapped a young boy, Shyam, and raised him as his foster son. He abducted 13-year-old Sarla to marry his son too. However, the twist came when Shyam fell in love with Neelam, who returned his love after being devastated by Gujjar’s atrocities. Eventually, very boldly, Nirbhay’s son and his second wife ran away together to lead a better life.

This, however, did not sit well with him and with his bruised ego, kept a reward of 21 lakhs for anyone who finds them dead or alive. Shyam and Neelam had surrendered at the police station and were safe with their hopes of a better life. So to take revenge, Nirbhay married his son’s wife, Sarla. Rumour has it that he married for the fourth time too.

Gujjar was fond of being publicized, so he frequently gave interviews and talked to journalists freely. The police officials considered this a slap on their faces when the public started questioning why journalists could locate him and the police could not. Following the footsteps of another great dacoit, Phoolan Devi, he also stated how he was willing to surrender due to increasing pressure from the police officials and his age, but he had one condition. He wanted to do it in front of Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, in hopes that he could get a political roadmap straightened out for him as Phoolan Devi did.

However, he clearly misread the political wave of the country at that time. He was gunned down due to his penchant for publicity, which the police used to track his cell phones. After opening fire and refusing to surrender, Gujjar was killed in the cross-firing between the police and his gang members. Known as the pinnacle of debauchery, the area near the villages took a sigh of relief after the death of Nirbhay Singh Gujjar.