Arms seized from the encounter site. (Naeem Ansari)

Lucknow, Aug. 4: One of the last big bandits of central India’s badlands was shot dead early today, paving the way for political realignment in a region that had so far been in the stranglehold of powerful dacoits.

A special task force of Uttar Pradesh police shot dead Ambika Patel alias Thokia, the state’s most wanted dacoit with over 80 criminal cases against him, after a two-hour gun battle in the forests of Bundelkhand in Chitrakoot, 230km from here, around 4 this morning.

The 42-year-old brigand, who commanded a gang of 80, had been nicknamed “Doctor” because he dreamt of becoming a medical practitioner as a child and was known to dispense free medicine and injections to local people.

He carried a reward of more than Rs 5 lakh on his head.

Madhya Pradesh police celebrated the news of his death, saying it hoped that bandit-dominated districts like Rewa, Panna, Satna and Chambal would become more peaceful.

Villagers in Rewanchal, Madhya Pradesh, however, considered Thokia a modern-day Robin Hood who never harmed the poor, especially those from his Kurmi-Patel caste group.

The killing of Thokia comes about a year after Dadua, another terror of the region dubbed “Veerappan of north India”, was shot dead in an encounter with the police.

The elimination of the two brigands is a huge boost for the Bahujan Samaj Party, which has been trying to rework caste alignments in the state.

“Let me be honest. The anti-dacoity drive in the region was all about grabbing Kurmi votes,” said Shyama Charan Gupta, Samajwadi Party MP from Banda.

The Kurmis account for 10-25 per cent of the vote bank across eight districts of Bundelkhand.

Uttar Pradesh police chief Vikram Singh said the force had been tracking the Thokia gang ever since it killed six jawans returning from a combing operation.

Yesterday, the police received information that Thokia was hiding in Cilkhan village in Chitrakoot district. A team of officers from the special task force, led by senior superintendent Amitabh Yash, swooped down on the hamlet around 2 this morning.

Yash said the gang got wind of police movement and, around 2.30, a volley of shots from the village greeted the task force. The jawans retaliated, killing the dacoit after a two-hour gun battle.