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SCMP Reporter

One of India's most-wanted men, who is believed to have masterminded the killing of 400 low-caste Hindus in five years, was arrested yesterday in the capital of Bihar state.

Barmeshwarnath Singh, who carried a reward of 500,000 rupees (HK$81,500) on his head, was nabbed in Patna by a special police squad following a tip-off, Superintendent Sunil Kumar said.

Singh heads the banned Ranvir Sena, a private army formed by the upper castes to crush low-caste Hindus, or Dalits, fighting for their rights.

He is the chief accused in as many as 20 caste carnages since 1997, including the massacre of 63 Dalits at Lakshmanpur-Bathe.

Police said his armed squads did not spare even Dalit children.

'The long-awaited arrest has cleared the deck for Singh's trial for murdering 400 Dalits and mounting attacks on policemen,' Superintendent Kumar said.

He said that identifying Singh after his arrest was a problem because the police did not have a single photograph of the man whose name spelt terror among Dalits. His identity was eventually established by jailed Sena fighters, police said.

Thousands of lives have been lost in the clashes between the Sena and underground Dalit groups since the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), representing lower castes and poor communities, wrested political power in Bihar in 1989 from the Congress Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party, which both enjoyed the backing of the state's upper castes.

Singh had eluded the police despite successive manhunts launched by the RJD government.

Dalits have tasted political power in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, India's two most populous states, but are still discriminated against in caste-ridden India.



'Scourge' of Dalits arrested