'DHANBAD': BLACK DIAMOND, CRIME, COAL MAFIAS, TASHAN

'DHANBAD': BLACK DIAMOND, CRIME,  COAL MAFIAS, TASHAN

                                       Rishabh Kamal

Dhanbad, a city in Eastern India, is called the 'coal capital of India'. The region around Dhanbad is called 'Koylanchal'. It has attained notoriety for pollution,coal dust, burning 'Jharia' ,crime, gangwars, coal mafias,Wasseypur and what not. It is only known for wrong reasons.

Dhanbad and coal are synonymous. The Damodar valley area, of which it is a part, is the largest coal producing area in the country. The Gondwana coal, which is found here is mainly Bituminous.  It is a huge revenue generating belt in the country. But, the burning 'Jharia' is a big menace. It is a huge concern. Chasnala(a place near Dhanbad) which saw a tragedy in 1978 has had a blotting effect on the city. But, the angle of gangwar in the city is as such that it overshadows the bigger concerns of the city like Jharia, coal mining, and increasing pollution and the feud between the coal mafias often become the hot topic among its residents. This densely populated city may be awful in its structure and layout, but it's wealth, cosmopolitan structure, lifestyle may give complex to other cities. It is inhabited mostly by Bengalis and Biharis with a sizeable population of Marwaris, Gujaratis, Sindhis, Punjabis. Bank More is the most bustling locality of the city. It has good shops, markets and a few good eating joints. But, we cannot detach the angle of coal mafias in the city, as long as bloody feud occurs in the city.

The coal mafias here supply the coal at inflated or fictitious expenses, they pilfer and sell the coal in black market, falsify worker contracts, expropriate and lease out the government land. A parallel economy has developed where the coal barons employ the significant fraction of local population to transport the coal on their bicycles over long distances over unpaved roads to illegal warehouses.  Higher quality coal is sometimes selectively diverted with stones and boulders in railway wagons.To understand the element of crime in the city, we will have to dwell in its history. It was around 1860-1870, when its coal reserves had come to the knowledge. The Britishers came to know about it and developed it in the early decade of 1900's. Till the time of independence of the country, i.e. 1947, most of the coal mines were managed by private institutions. Wasseypur, which has been presented as notorious has been named after a builder, Wassey Sahab, who had established that area, by shedding off the jungles and bushes there. The story of coal war within the city dates back to the arrival of B.P. Sinha.The man, B.P Sinha, had come  to Dhanbad, from Barh, near Patna in search of employment. In Dhanbad, he got a place in the labour union, and gradually, he became the main leader of the Union. He was also involved in the business of coal, where he had monopoly. When the coal mines were nationalised on 18th October, 1971, his position got stronger. At a point of time, he started ruling the city. It is exactly the period of time, when the city started witnessing bloody gangwars. At that point of time, the house of B.P. Sinha was famously called 'White House'. The bloodshed and gangwars started in the decade of 1960's. During this time, a labour from Ballia(Eastern UP), Suryadeo Singh, had come to Dhanbad. Before that, he worked as a 'khalasi' in a coal plant in West Bengal. Soon, he earned the faith of his chief, B.P. Sinha. He was his right hand. When the Indira Gandhi government fell, the position of B.P. Sinha also weakened. Suryadeo had started taking over the estate from him. His close association, with former Prime Minister, Chandrashekhar enhanced his political clout and status. Suryadeo belonged to the village of Shri Chandrashekhar.  On the fateful night of 28/03/1971, B.P. Sinha was murdered in his White House. Speculations were that, Suryadeo had an involvement in the murder. Suryadeo had established his empire and house, Singh Mansion. The focus, then shifted to Singh Mansion from White House. Suryadeo had started hiring henchmen, musclemen, criminals from his area. There was a saying, at that time, that A+B+C=D, Arrah+Ballia+Chhapra=Dhanbad. Today, also, majority of its inhabitants have migrated from these places, mostly from the districts of Saran, Bhojpur, Aurangabad, Munger, Lakhisarai, Jamui, etc. One of his associate, Sakaldeo Singh had floated a labour union of his own, which caused bitterness among the two. Sakaldeo Singh was murdered in a filmy style by henchmen of Suryadeo in 1983. The rivalry between the different coal houses began. The rivalry and feud between them in Dhanbad for domination was  the beginning of a new trend and was infact the 'first organised crime of Asia'. Suryadeo Singh had also died in a suspicious condition.

A coal trader, named Suresh Singh was believed to be involved in the murder of Suryadeo Singh. It is said that in course of vengeance, Suresh Singh had Suryadeo Singh murdered, because the latter was involved in the murder of Suresh Singh's father. The feud started engrossing between 'Singh Mansion'(Suryadeo Singh's house) and 'Ramayan Niwas'(Suresh Singh's house).  Many associates from both sides were killed in the decade of 1980's and 1990's. Early 2000's also witnessed some bloodsheds. A dreaded coal mafia, Sushanto Sengupta was shot down by unidentified gunmen in 2002. In 2004, a prominent coal trader, Pramod Singh, was killed. In 2006, Rajiv Ranjan Singh(elder son of Suryadeo Singh) was kidnapped and murdered in the bloodiest battle for one-upmanship in the coal battle. It is said that Brijesh Singh, a dreaded gangster of Eastern Uttar Pradesh was hired for killing him. In between, also, the black city witnessed some incidents of these sorts. In December 2011, Suresh Singh was murdered in Dhanbad Club, where he was enjoying the orchestra. The inside story of Dhanbad mafias is dreadful and even glamorous than what was depicted in the movie series 'Gangs of Wasseypur'.  There was a dip in the incidents of gangwar. The rivals within the family had joined politics. The family of Suryadeo Singh had divided into two factions, Singh Mansion and the other, Raghukul Niwas. Singh Mansion is being regulated by Sanjeev Singh,  younger son of Suryadeo Singh and Kunti Devi, wife of Suryadeo Singh. Sanjeev Singh has the backing of Ramdhir Singh, one of the brothers of Suryadeo Singh. Sanjeev Singh is in BJP and the current MLA from Jharia. Sanjeev Singh has stakes in coal trade. On the other hand, Raghukul Niwas was being regulated by Niraj Singh, nephew of Suryadeo Singh, and Eklavya Singh, brother of Niraj Singh.(Eklavya Singh is the current Deputy Mayor of Dhanbad). Niraj Singh had the backing of Bachcha Singh, one of the brothers 

Suryadeo Singh

Rajiv Ranjan Singh

Suresh Singh

Neeraj Singh

of Suryadeo Singh. Niraj Singh was in Congress and was Deputy Mayor of Dhanbad for two terms. He had stakes in coal trade, real estate and amusement parks. The sensational murder of Niraj Singh and his 3 associates on 21/03/2017 in the crowded locality of Dhanbad has fuelled the intensity of the city and has put questions on speculations of everything being fine in the city. The city has never witnessed such merciless killing.  Sanjeev Singh, cousin of Neeraj Singh is also a suspect, while other enemies of Niraj Singh are also on the radar. Investigation is being carried in this cold-blooded murder. Only time will tell the fate of coal wars in the city. Wasseypur on the other hand, saw a different crime. Fahim Khan and Sabir Khan used to fight for extortion. Sabir Khan was a dealer of clothes and Fahim Khan was an extortionist. Wasseypur saw more kind of them in the decade of 1980's and 1990's.

This is the inside story of coal traders and coal mafias of the city. To others, it may seem just another town of the state to which it belongs. But, there, is another face of Dhanbad, which is less known. The people of Dhanbad are compassionate, crazy, fun-loving, conducive. They have a certain 'tashan' and style. The city boasts of institution like Indian School of Mines, which has been upgraded to IIT. It is the best mining college in the country. It has BIT, Sindri(Birla Institute of Technology), CIMFR(Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research), BCCL(Bharat Cooking Coal Limited). It has good fancy shopping places, bustling Bank More, City Centre, restaurants like 17 Degrees, Madhulika, resort like Sonotel, branded fabric showrooms, automobile showrooms. One would observe the latest, luxurious, SUV's and cars here. The railway station is always busy and bustling. It is situated on the Grand Chord Section of Indian Railways. It also has a petty good road connectivity. It is situated on the Grand Trunk Road, a part of the Golden Quadrilateral. The public here is engaging, and they have a variety of subjects to dwell in. It is the second most populous city of the state(after Jamshedpur) and generates a high revenue both in railways and road transport. Even a small labourer and poor person here has ambitions and stories to tell. (DHANBAD= DHAN +AABAD; though, it is not the real meaning, wealth is everywhere, here).