Mahagathbandhan's win has made my worst nightmare come true

In a historic election, which was free, fair and peaceful, the Grand Alliance got an unprecedented mandate in Bihar, on November 8. This reminds me of 1995 and 2000 Assembly elections which were said to be rigged. I remember my father and his friends, who taught in Magadh University, would be the first ones to reach the Gaya College booth because the votes of latecomers would be cast by RJD supporters. Several of my father's friends - I would not name them here - had become victims of "bogus voting" or "booth-capturing". But this was just one of the episodes which contributed to making the 15-year-RJD rule a "Jungle Raj" in Bihar. There were several other such incidents which had become quite the norm at the time.

Nitish Kumar as chief minister notwithstanding, there are fears that Jungle Raj would come to haunt Bihar. His alliance partner Lalu Prasad's supporters, mostly Yadavs, had gone on the rampage then, killing political opponents, kidnapping the well-off for ransom, raping and indulging in all kinds of anti-social activities.

We lived in AP Colony, which was the most posh locality of Gaya. It was inhabited mostly by lecturers and leading doctors of the ancient city. There was also a section in which Punjabis and Marwaris lived. They were businessmen who owned trucks and tyre shops. But the scenario changed with the advent of RJD on the scene. The Yadavs started extorting money and harassing them. This forced these people to wind up their well-settled businesses and reluctantly flee Gaya. Their houses were bought by Lalu supporters for peanuts.

These goons "captured" several houses in AP Colony and forced the owners to either sell them at very cheap rates or run away, saving their life and dignity of their women members. It had become a shortcut for these anti-social elements to own a house in the elite colony though. They also opened private colleges in their names to earn popularity and respect. I hope Nitish does not mean this kind of "emancipation" of the anti-social elements when he talked of "social justice" with development as his mantra for the next stint.

Several new "dons" had arrived on the scene in a short span. The petty thieves had graduated to more serious crimes. They also made the leading medical practitioners their prey. They would take away their cars and return them only after getting hefty ransom.

Hearing gun shots and seeing gun-toting men had become routine in the ancient city which was otherwise peaceful and famous worldwide for being the place where Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment. Tata Sumo jeeps were their most favourite vehicle. Four gun barrels jutting out from each window of these Tata Sumos was a common sight.

Talking of gun shots, I remember having visited Gaya in the mid '90s to meet my parents while I was working in Delhi. The roads gave a deserted look after sunset. I had never seen such a scene in Gaya earlier.

One evening, while I was coming home after meeting an old friend of mine, I heard gun shots nearby. I immediately rushed home - not out of fear but out of concern for my parents. And I was right. Even before I could reach home, I saw my parents briskly walking on the road, fearing the worst. On seeing me, they heaved a sigh of relief. They had thought that I had been shot at.  I haven't seen such an expression on their faces ever.

I wanted to find out the reason behind the gun shots but my parents did not allow me to step out of home. I read in the newspaper next morning that the brother of a local goon - obviously a Yadav - had killed someone who had come to eat dinner in a restaurant owned by them. This spoilt brat had wiped his wet hands in the "gamchha" (towel) of the customer. On facing objection, this young man took out his pistol and killed the customer. Most shockingly, the incident took place in front of the local police station called Rampur thana and was situated beside the Gaya College.

While I came to Delhi for my graduation, some of my friends stayed back. One of them became a contractor. He was challenged by several Yadavs who had also taken to this profession to earn easy money. During one of my visits to Gaya, my friend told me how his life was at risk and he might get killed by these goons. He told me that they were keeping a watch on all his activities and said they would have come to know that I had visited him. He told me how once he was shot at while he was in his car but survived miraculously as the bullet hit the headrest after piercing the windowpane.

Months later, I learnt that my friend was kidnapped by the goons, tortured for several days, his hair and nails were pulled off, hands and legs were broken before being finally killed. Worse still, there was no police action in the case. I don't know why, but the pulling off of the nails to torture someone is very common in Bihar. I have heard many such stories. Some of these anti-social elements went on to contest Assembly elections and became ministers in the RJD government.

To highlight the pathetic law and order situation in the state, in an earlier piece I have already mentioned the dacoity which had taken place in my home in 1998.

There was massive outflux of people during those 15 years. I only hope and pray that Bihar does not fall in that cesspit once again. There are fears of the repeat of Jungle Raj Part 1 because of two reasons: one, RJD is the single largest party bagging 80 seats and, two, both the sons of Lalu have won the elections. Hope the Yadavs do not get emboldened by this and malign the Mahagathbandhan government. The Biharis would only pray that Nitish is able to rein in these anti-social elements which neither Lalu nor his wife Rabri Devi could do in their stints.