At Ground Zero, villagers who aided cops fear terror backlash

KHEJRADEO: Fear lurks in Ground Zero - Khejradeo village - 72 hours after eight SIMI men were gunned down. Though five men from the village, key witnesses in the case, were paraded on stage on MP Foundation Day celebrations at Lal Parade grounds and honoured for aiding siege and search operations and the entire village was granted a Rs 40-lakh bravery bonanza, residents still live in fear of a terror backlash.
There's an uneasy calm in Khejradeo, a village that survives on wheat and vegetable cultivation. Groups of pensive farmers sitting on 'chabutras' avoided a direct conversation about the encounter.
"Hamara gaon atankvaad ki nishane par aa gaya hain (Our villages are target of terrorists)," said a visibly nervous Gopal Singh, a farmer. "Even if the state government provides security, what will cops do when terrorists strike." In the same breath, he said had terrorists been armed, they could not have been wiped out so easily.
Khejradeo village, 25 km from the state capital, has a population of 1000 villagers with around 250 houses. Sarpanch Mohan Singh Meena, prime witness and informer, said he is feeling unsafe and would like to apply for a gun licence. "While I was coming back from Bhopal after felicitation by the chief minister, two bikers chased me." He said villagers and their relatives involved in countering the SIMI fugitives are particularly apprehensive.
Meena said after the encounter, some farmers are facing a manpower crisis. "Labourers working in the brick kilns are staying away from work," he said.
A farmer, who sought anonymity for fear of inquiry, said work in his farm has been hit. Similar sentiments were echoed by his friend. "Two labourers were employed in my brick kiln. Work stopped as labourers have stopped coming to work after the encounter," he said.