Bullet Queen’ Seema Parihar is now ‘Ballot Queen’

Etawah: Once known as the ‘Bullet Queen’ of Chambal, former dacoit Seema Parihar is today being hailed as a ‘Ballot Queen’.
The once-dreaded gangster is now part of voter awareness drives, urging people to come out in large numbers to exercise their franchise in the upcoming assembly elections and “bring a peaceful change in society”.
Seema (47) shunned violence in June 2000 and is a completely different person now.Hailing from Bawine village of Auraiya district, she has been telling people, including ex-brigands in and around Chambal, to take part in the systematic voters’ education and electoral participation (SVEEP) programme.
Not only this, Seema has played the role of a former village head in a short film called ‘The Ballot’ where she asks villagers who have decided to boycott elections to come out and vote for the sake of democracy.
During the 19 years that she was a dacoit, Seema was an active member of the dreaded Lalaram gang and then the Nirbhay Gujjar gang. She became the leader of Lalaram gang after its latter died in an encounter. Under Seema, the gang carried out over two dozen robberies and countless abductions before she had a change of heart. She is facing trial in a dozen cases registered at police stations in Etawah, Auraiya and Jalaun districts of the treacherous Chambal valley.
Seema is candid about her role as ‘Ballot Queen’ in ‘The Ballot’.
“The idea is to reach out to people and seek their resolve on participation in the assembly election,” Seema told TOI. “I play the role of a former village head who tells villagers hell bent on boycotting elections to protest against the lack of development instead. I tell them that our vote is precious and not only our right, but also our foremost duty towards the nation,” she added.
“Every person must inspire and encourage friends and family members to participate fearlessly without being influenced by considerations of religion, caste and community, language or any inducement for a candidate who can meet aspirants of the people and work in the interest of the nation,” she said.
Director of the film, senior official of National Savings Prabhat Mishra said he had approached the former dacoit as he felt that she had a huge public connect.
“Seema has already become a celebrity by participating in Bigg Boss. She has such a huge fan following that people go crazy on getting her glimpse. I am confident that she would be able to convince voters,” said Mishra.
For decades, any ‘farman’ (diktat) issued by dacoits like Man Singh, Mohar Singh, Phoolan Devi or Nirbhay Gujjar was the final word for the local people in around 400 villages of the ravines.
“This time, a different type of ‘farman’ has been issued. It tells them not to be threatened to boycott the election or vote in favour of a particular candidate. Instead, they are being asked to fearlessly participate in the poll process and vote for the best candidate,” Mishra added.