Bhopal, Nov. 14: In reformed Chambal dacoit Malkhan Singh's humble opinion, demonetisation is good but not enough to take the fight to the finish.

If Prime Minister Narendra Modi is serious about weeding out black money, he must declare an all-out war against corruption, the dacoit who surrendered arms in June 1982 has told The Telegraph.

Sporting a red vermilion mark on his forehead and a thick curled moustache, Malkhan said: " Notebandi (demonetisation) is good but not enough. Modi needs to unearth the huge property and the money amassed by elected representatives and bureaucrats. The time has come to identity the real dacoits in public life."

Speaking to this newspaper soon after renewing his 12-bore gun licence at SBI's Moti Bagh branch in Gwalior, over 400km from here, he continued: "I feel sorry for the thousands queuing up to get Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,000 of their own money.

"But if Modiji is really serious about fighting corruption and black money, he needs to examine how MPs and MLAs own petrol pumps after getting elected.

"He needs to check their bank lockers and benami network that crosses national boundaries. Modiji needs to fight to the finish."

Malkhan, 76, said some people at the bank had thought that he was exchanging old notes and depositing money. "Please tell the world that reformed dacoit Malkhan has no money. The new-age dacoits are all well-entrenched and holding responsible and respectable positions in society and in the administration. That mask should be peeled off now," he said.

"See the irony... I have paid Rs 2,500 to renew the licence of the 12-bore gun that can perhaps not save my life. For someone who had an AK-56, this 12-bore gun is like a toy," Malkhan laughed, denying that the charges of 185 killings and 112 robberies against him were false.

"When I am pardoned after surrendering arms, talking about crimes that are not legally tenable is unfair. Moreover, many took my name in that era to cover their crimes."

Lavishly praising Modi, he continued: "I had campaigned for him after realising that he is a sincere man. This notebandi measure has proved my point. But he must not stop now.

"Once the existing political class and its nexus with white-collar crimes is exposed, a new socio-political order will emerge where men of integrity without money or muscle power will get elected."

Malkhan, who had surrendered before then Madhya Pradesh chief minister Arjun Singh, said the promises made to him were never fulfilled. "Before we surrendered with our arms, the government made a commitment to give us land.

"However, as soon as the surrender took place, Arjun Singh was replaced by Motilal Vora and the promises were forgotten. Successive regimes did not realise that these were promises made by the state government, not by an individual," he said.

A contemporary of Phoolan Devi, Malkhan was dubbed "Dasyu Samrat" (dacoit king) in the 1970s.

He claimed he became a baghi (rebel) after a village sarpanch who grabbed temple land got him arrested for opposing the takeover.

Retired police officers said the ravines of the Chambal region were a natural breeding ground of dacoits. Caste discrimination, persecution by the police and glorification of dacoits by some sections of society were some factors that turned youths into rebels, they said.

In the 2003 Assembly polls, Malkhan had unsuccessfully contested from Karera in Shivpuri district, some 120km from Gwalior, as a nominee of the little-known Samanta Dal.

"When I entered politics, I realised it had some real-time, ugly dacoits who looted and plundered the poor at will. Now a man called Modi has come to set things right," he said.