AHMEDABAD: Rohan does not want to be a thief any longer, but he does not have Rs1.5 lakh that will release him from the commitment tying him to a criminal gang. Fifty per cent of Chharanagar’s criminals are weighed down by a burden similar to the one that prevents Rohan from finding an honourable life.

The locality was once infamous as the neighbourhood of criminals and the site of production of illicit liquor. The sinister element of Chharanagar’s character has been diluted over the years, but it has not been washed away yet.

So those trapped in Chharanagar’s criminal gangs, including Rohan, are caught in the double bind of debt of disrepute. A gang generally borrows money on heavy interest (5% to 10% per month) from moneylenders in and around the locality, and its burden increases after each failed criminal run. Chhara gangs, usually made up of five to 12 members, choose targets in cities other than Ahmedabad. Therefore every sortie drains the gang’s resources: money is spent for food, commuting, and accommodation.

The gang leader is held accountable for repayment by the moneylenders, most of whom belong to the Chhara community. “But the financial burden is ultimately is on us, the members, and we can leave the group only after clearing our Bhach,” said Rohan. In Chhara language, Bhach means the share
of loss.

“The only solution is to try to steal enough to clear the whole financial burden of the crew,” said Nirmal, another Chharanagar resident bound by Bhach. “We don’t have property to mortgage or the goodwill secure loans from banks.”

Rohan, now in his 40s, joined a gang some 15 years ago. He has not been able to break through the forbidding circle of liability and thieves’ code of honour.

“I was shut into a gang when I was a student of second year, because we were starving,” he said.

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