16 August,2011 07:25 AM IST | | Akela
Bachchi Pandey, who was released last week after spending 17 years in jail for murder, says he is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and wants to fight against terrorism and corruption in the country
WHILE prolonged imprisonment often turns innocent people into hardened criminals, it seems to have had the exact opposite effect on former Dawood aide Ramchandra Sheetla Prasad Pandey alias Bachchi Pandey, who has now sworn to fight against terrorism and corruption in the country.
Bachchi Pandey regrets putting his family through
years of turmoil owing to his criminal background
Pandey, who walked out of Taloja jail last week after serving a nearly 17-year term for murder, says he will now follow the path laid down by Mahatma Gandhi, Anna Hazare and Kiran Bedi.
"The jail term has changed my life. I am very hurt by the various acts of terrorism I heard about in prison, and now I will follow in Mahatma Gandhi, Anna Hazare and Kiran Bedi's footsteps and fight against terrorism and corruption in the country," Pandey told MiD DAY.
Talking about the reasons behind him straying into the underworld, the 52-year-old Pandey said he had been misled by 'jawani, dost aur sharab' and said he was deeply sorry for the hurt he had caused his family because of his misdeeds.
"My family wife Kamla (50), sons Sanjay (28) and Satish (17) suffered immensely because of my arrest.
While I nurtured dreams of making my son grow up to become gentlemen, they eventually got tagged as the offspring of a don because of me. I accept that I committed a lot of mistakes in my life, which I wasted running between Tihar and Taloja jails."
A native of Varanasi, Pandey claims to have utilised his time well in the jail. "I read autobiographies of Mahatama Gandhi, Sardar Bhagat Singh and Subhash Chandra Bose.
I also took an oath in jail to stay off cigarettes, alcohol and non-vegetarian food and have never touched them since. I revered Kiran Bedi, who we called didi, like a goddess when I was in Tihar jail. We had all broken out into an impromptu Bhangra when she received the Magsaysay award," said Pandey.
"Mumbai has changed and the biggest threat that the city and the country face is terrorism. Now I will fight terrorism. I will form an anti-terrorism group and will also take on corruption in the country," he added.
Accused of charges under Terrorism and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (Tada), Pandey spent 16 years and 8 months behind bars.
Criminal record
Having taken his baby steps as a small-time criminal from Jogeshwari, Pandey eventually came in contact with Subhash Singh Thakur, a close aide of Dawood, and shot to fame amongst criminals with the murder of Dawood's brother-in-law and Haseena Parkar's husband Ibrahim Parkar.
It has been alleged that, on February 12, 1992, Pandey, Thakur, Sunil Sawant alias Sawatya, Diwarkar Churi and Sanjay Raggad barged into ward no 18 at the JJ Hospital at 3.40 am and fired 500 rounds at Shailesh Haldankar, a member of the Arun Gawli gang.
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Two policemen, P G Javsen and K B Bhanavat, who were guarding Haldankar, were also killed in the firing.
Out of a total of 41 accused in the case, only nine, including Pandey, were brought to trial. The others had been discharged, killed by rivals or were absconding at the time.
Pandey is also an accused in the killing of Anna Shetty and Bhatija brothers in Ulhasnagar.
"Pandey was unnecessarily lodged in jail. He had no role in the Bhatija brothers and Anna Shetty murder case. I have been fighting since five years to get Pandey out of jail, where he was kept without trial," said Deepak Mishra, Pandey's lawyer.
