Raghuraj Pratap Singh

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This article is about the politician from Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh in India. For the politician from Gonda, see Kirti Vardhan Singh.

Kunwar Raghuraj Pratap Singh, more commonly known as Raja Bhaiya (1969 - ) is an Indian criminal-politician and scion of the Bhadri dynasty (Oudh line[1]) of Kunda, Uttar Pradesh. He is under trial in 35 criminal cases[2] including several of murder, assault, possession of illegal weapons like AK-56 rifles, etc., and is currently an Independent MLA, having been elected from Kunda in the Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections, 2007. Seen as an ally of Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, Raja Bhaiya has been a minister in the Mulayam government. In the period, 2002-2004, he was jailed on terrorism charges resulting from a large cache of weapons found with him.

Kunwar, or Prince, is an honorific title.

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[edit] Life

Raja Bhaiya was born to Udai Pratap Singh of the satellite royal family Bhadri in 1969. He was the first in his family to enter politics; his Doon School educated father was largely a recluse[3].

Raghuraj was educated at Lucknow University, and fought and won the state elections from the Kunda seat in 1993, as an Independent. He was officially 26 years old [3], but was possibly underage at the time. In the Indian general election, 1999, he put up his cousin Akshay Pratap Singh against the incumbent Ratna Singh (also a princess from a related family). it is in this election that Raja Bhaiya started using strongarm and criminal intimidation tactics.

[edit] Jailed on terrorism charges

In 2002, the Mayawati-led government in Uttar Pradesh declared him a terrorist, and he was sent to jail under Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), along with his father Udai Pratap Singh and cousin Akshay Pratap Singh[4]. Subsequently, Akshay managed to get bail, but Raja Bhaiyya's pleas were rejected many times[5].

During this period, a police raid on his Beti Palace residence uncovered a large cache of 57 rifles including an illegal AK-56 Chinese-built Kalashnikov weapon[6], a skeleton in the palace lake, and also a large amount of unaccounted for jewelry and cash. The skull on the skeleton is said to be that of scooterist Santosh Misra who had been kidnapped and killed and his body dumped in this lake[7]. Mishra allegedly refused to give way to Raja Bhaiya's cavalcade and, in effect, overtook it. In Kunda, "people are expected to stand with folded hands when Raja Bhaiya passes by"[6]. According to villagers, he bred crocodiles in this artificial lake, and people who dared defy were fed to the reptiles[2].

[edit] From jail to cabinet minister

However, within 25 minutes[2] of the Mulayam Singh Yadav coming to power in 2003, all POTA charges against him were dropped. However, the Supreme Court debarred the state government from dismissing POTA charges[2]

Eventually the repressive POTA act was repealed in 2004, and although the court again refused to release Raja Bhaiya[8], the Mulayam Singh government managed to get his cases cleared. He subsequently became a powerful man in the government, and was accused by police officer R.S. Pandey (who led the raid on his house) of having launched a vendetta against him[9].

In 2005, he became the minister for Food and Civil Supplies, and despite his pending criminal cases, he came to be assigned the highest level of security (Z-category) provided by the state[10], though the threats against him were not specified.

[edit] 2007 Elections

In the Uttar Pradesh state elections, 2007, he was overwhelmingly elected from Kunda with a margin of nearly half the votes cast[11] over Shiv Prakash Mishra of the Bahujan Samaj Party. He had stood as an Independent, supported by the Samajwadi Party, and with succinct support from the Bharatiya Janata Party, which did not field candidates against him[11].

He also wields considerable influence over five assembly constituencies in the Pratapgarh region, as well as some in neighbouring Bihar. In election rallies in this region where he is present, the actual candidate may never speak or even be mentioned in his speech; "they are all shadows. Raja Bhaiya, alone, is the substance."[12].

His cousin and political follower Akshay Pratap Singh alias Gopalji won the 2004 elections to the 14th Lok Sabha from Pratapgarh. Much of his campaign against Congress leader, princess Ratna Singh (from a related branch of the family), was planned from the jail premises where Raja Bhaiya was incarcerated[5].

After the 2007 elections, Mayawati swept to power with a majority, and Raju Bhaiya is again under the police radar. Recently, he was declared leader of a criminal gang ("gang number 232"[13]) with about 105 members, and moth-balled legal cases pending against him are moving again.

Raja Bhaiya is also the name of a 2003 Hindi film Raja Bhaiya (film).

[edit] References

  1. ^ BHADRI (Taluq) - University of Queensland
  2. ^ a b c d George Iype and Ehtasham Khan. "Caught in the POTA trap: Uttar Pradesh", rediff.com, 2004-03-11. 
  3. ^ a b Vinay Kumar. "Even in jail, Raja Bhaiyya is a force to reckon with (Elections 2004)", The Hindu, Mar 17, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-08-06. 
  4. ^ The gang of Raja Bhaiyya Times of India - June 24, 2007
  5. ^ a b J.P. Shukla. "Muscle and mafia links still matter in Uttar Pradesh", The Hindu, Apr 15, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-08-09. 
  6. ^ a b Purnima S. Tripathi. "By hook or by crook", Frontline, Volume 20 - Issue 04, February 15 - 28, 2003. Retrieved on 2007-08-06. 
  7. ^ Sharat Pradhan. "Police framed evidence against Raja Bhaiya: Witness", rediff.com, January 30, 2003. 
  8. ^ Ram Dutt Tripathi. "Politician held on terror charge", BBC News, Lucknow, 14 November 2005. Retrieved on 2007-08-06. 
  9. ^ SC upholds stay on proceedings. "Raja Bhaiya cases: DSP being `victimised'", The Tribune, Chandigarh, 2004-08-28. Retrieved on 2007-08-06. 
  10. ^ Aman Sharma. "Now, Z security for Bhaiyya", Indian Express, June 22, 2005. 
  11. ^ a b Election Commission of India: Uttar Pradesh state elections, 2007, Results, constituency 98.
  12. ^ Prem Panicker. "Election 2002: The secret of Raja Bhaiya's success", rediff.com, 2002-02-20. Retrieved on 2007-08-06. 
  13. ^ "The gang of Raja Bhaiyya", Times of India, 24 Jun 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-06. 

14. http://www.orkut.co.in/Community.aspx?cmm=26957373 ,Most renowned and oldest community in orkut praising shri shri raghuraj pratap singh.

[edit] External links