Gangs of Wasseypur resume their coal wars in Dhanbad

The dreaded gang wars in the country’s coal capital Dhanbad, brought to life by director Anurag Kashyap in the Hindi film Gangs of Wasseypur, have returned to haunt the city, with the killing of Dhan- bad’s former Deputy Mayor Neeraj Singh and three others on 21 March. The new chain of events has been triggered by the fight for the control of the local collieries, coal production for which has been outsourced to different companies by Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), due to its poor financial health. BCCL is a subsidiary of Coal India Limited (CIL). Wasseypur is a locality in Dhanbad.

Neeraj Singh and three of his associates were killed by four assailants, who pumped 49 bullets into them, leading to widespread protests in the city. The Jharkhand Po- lice has constituted a special investigating team (SIT) to probe the murders, but has not been able to make any breakthroughs so far.

Sources on the ground say that the gang-wars have returned because of BCCL outsourcing coal production. “Since most of the companies doing the job are from outside Dhanbad, they need local support for providing transportation, labour and managing other logistics for smooth operation. Here comes the role of local groups of musclemen who are controlled by the coal mafia,” said a Dhanbad- based source, who has been tracking the gang wars for the last several years.

Neeraj Singh’s uncle, Bachcha Singh, a former Cabinet minister in Jharkhand, has claimed that the police was going slow in the case because of the alleged involvement of a BJP MLA, Sanjiv Singh. He has demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Repeated attempts to contact Sanjiv Singh remained futile. A text message sent to his mobile went unanswered. State BJP leaders refused to comment on the issue. How-