ARMS’FREE’

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 23; the twenty-third edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. The theme for this month is FREE.

“balu bhaiyya, just got a call from sindhiya….they are coming to get us!!!!”, Ramu came yelling inside the small little hut. Balu was alone, sitting on his khursi  ,with legs wide spread on the wodden table. He had a katta in his hand. Ramu was breathing heavily & the dripping sweat from his face justified his fear of being apprehended by the Bihar police.

Balu still had audacious sparkle in his eyes. He got up from his chair & made his way up to Ramu & patting his shoulder murmured in his frail, senile voice,” don’t worry…..you were the one who wished to be free from all this mess, you got it!!! Be happy…I won’t let you hurt them”….turning his back to Ramu, he took a stride and within a wink of an eye Ramu started sweating more than he was before. Well, he had to because he knew his life was at stake…..the katta in in Balu’s hand, had just found a place to monger on his forehead…  He couldn’t believe that he was standing at the gunpoint!!

That gun was one among thousands of guns which they made in the small huts surrounding this hut...These huts were not just any ordinary poor man’s hut... This was the place where Balu & Ramu had built the whole arms smuggling racket in Munger, a nondescript town about 200km away from Patna. They started manufacturing these illicit arms 35 years ago & they had almost built a huge empire of their arms supply. The Maoists in Orissa, West Bengal were the primary customers of them. From last 5 years, they had blossomed in Nepal by supplying the local terrorists groups.  The enticing part of their business came from kattas, which were country made pistols made for rural goons. They had 500 operational arms factory in the town out of which half were closed down by surprise raids of Special Force Arms Buster s (SFAB), while some had to be moved in UP.

But as they say, every good thing has to end some or the other day. From past couple of years Ramu had lost almost all members of his family in those raids. Those were not ordinary raids, it always used to end up in encounter & hence the killings. Balu & Ramu were friends from childhood. Balu’s parents died when he was very young & since Ramu lived in his neighborhood, Ramu ‘s parents took care of him. Ramu considered him, adored him like his own elder brother .He was very close to him though he had four younger brothers of his own. The affection grew strongly & soon they started their illicit arms business on the orders of an Italian Businesman, who wished to set up smuggling web in India back then.

Gradually everything went smoothly. Despite of 2982 cases being registered under the ARMS ACT in Bihar in 2005, none could shake them. They had bought everyone. But from past two years due to high media pressure, once upon a time politician friends turned to veteran foes.

Ramu took each & every order from Balu & executed with magnificent grace & zeal. Balu too loved him as Ramu was everything to him. Though he used to be rude from outside, he cared a lot from inside. He didn’t get married just because he didn’t wish to stay with a woman who may in future create problems in his relation with Ramu & his family. Ramu had five children, all indulged n this business & only one of them was alive: Manuj… he was 20 years old. Due to their downfall in recent years, Balu was training  Manuj all the business tricks & the ways to survive in exile.

This pricked Ramu. The training intensified after death of all his four sons. Ramu didn’t want Manuj to be a part of this sordid play. He explained to Balu on many occasions but it fell on deaf ears… he was more concerned in having a successor after him. Almost 50% of the families in Munjer were involved n this arms business & closing this would be unjust for those families. This is the reason why Balu never wished to put an end to it.

One night , Ramu made up his mind & decided to free his son from the clutches of this life threatening business. Actually, Manuj also wanted to free himself, but couldn’t speak out….because everybody feared to speak up.

They made the plan, Manuj was made to go to China under the pretext of signing a new consignment with the Chinese & then Ramu used his political influences to sketch the attack on Balu on a condition that they would issue a clean chit to Manuj…  make him FREE from all the cases filed against him…

“why !! Ramu why!.... I trusted you..”

“Balu bhaiyya , I lost my four sons!! & you want me to lose my last son!!

Why risk his life !! his just 20…

How the hell can u understand….u never had  A CHILD”

Hearing this, the weak, fragile eyes of a 55 year old man were filled with tears. He always loved his children like his own & the pain of losing them equally haunted him. Ramu was stunned…. For the first time in 35 years, he had seen tears in Balu’s eyes…..

Balu smiled while drops of tears made a zigzag way through the wrinkles on below his eyes & pulled the trigger……

The police soon came in & the scene didn’t make them happy….. Ramu’s dead  body was lying below the kursi  & Balu’s on it..with slithered throat having an explicit impression of the bullet……………..

After few months, the SFAB successfully closed down all the operational manufacturing factories & thus Munger became ARMS’FREE’………………..

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