Bhopal, Oct. 29: Rambabu Gadaria today lived up to the reputation of being the ?Veerappan of Chambal? by killing 12 people he suspected of being police informers.

Early reports indicated that the villagers were lined up and gunned down at Bhanwartala village in Ghatigaon, Gwalior.

Senior officials, including director-general of police S.K. Das and principal secretary (home) Bhagirath Prasad, have rushed to Bhanwartala.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Babulal Gaur has announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each to the next of kin of the dead and Rs 25,000 each to the injured.

Before leaving for Bhanwartala, Prasad said initial reports suggested that the dacoit was annoyed with the villagers, some of whom he suspected to be police informers.

The bureaucrat added that Gadaria and his gang reached Bhanwartala at 10 am and searched for male members. They caught hold of about two-dozen people, mostly elders, and fired at them indiscriminately.

Prasad said 12 villagers were killed while nine with critical injuries were rushed to a nearby hospital.

A massive search has been launched to nab the dacoit.

Inspector-general of police, Gwalior, P. Krishna and superintendent of police, Gwalior, Jagdeep Prasad have reached the spot.

Senior police officials in Bhopal said Gadaria specialises in abductions called pakad in the Chambal lexicon. In eight years in the Chambal ravines, he has abducted more than 250 people and extorted about Rs 3 crore as ransom. More than 40 people were killed after their families failed to arrange the ransom.

Last year, the brigand sent shockwaves when he wrote to Umesh Joga, the Shivpuri superintendent of police, demanding Rs 25 lakh. ?Or else, be prepared for a wave of abductions and killing of government servants,? the missive read.

The letter was delivered by two government school teachers, whom Gadaria held captive for more than a fortnight. They were released after paying an undisclosed amount as ransom.

Joga had, however, put a brave front calling the letter a mere publicity stunt.

Gadaria carries a prize of Rs 25 lakh on his head. But the dacoit has remained unfazed by police mobilisation.

Like Veerappan, he thrives on a larger-than-life image. ?He wants to tread the footsteps of the likes of legendary dacoits Phoolan Devi, Malkhan Singh and Man Singh,? said a senior police official, who has led several anti-dacoity operations in Chambal.

Last year, then director-general of state police D.C. Jugran had camped in the Shivpuri-Chambal region for over a fortnight to help local police officials fine tune their strategy for capturing Gadaria.

The drive, however, proved unsuccessful as Jugran discovered that the local police were hardly prepared to match the gang.

Armed with obsolete equipment, they lacked the drive or motivation.

Jugran was dismayed that most of his personnel were hardly fit to undertake intensive operations.

Subsequently, many drives were launched, including one in which policemen were asked to grow moustache. A superintendent also enforced a code to cut the flab but angry policemen retaliated by organising a yagna seeking divine intervention to get him transferred.

Dacoity in Chambal is more than a century old but in the last decade, it has witnessed a gradual shift from traditional looting to abduction.

For many years, people in Shivpuri and nearby areas do not keep their valuables and money at home or venture out after sunset. Abductions for ransom continue to be a lucrative business.