The Bihar unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is facing sharp criticism over its decision to induct Sahebganj MLA Raju Singh into the Nitish Kumar cabinet, despite his history of serious criminal charges.
Singh, who belongs to an influential and wealthy Rajput family, is an accused in a case of attempted murder of a well-known Delhi-based architect and author that took place in 2019.
On the night of 2019 New Year’s Eve, Singh had hosted a party at his farmhouse in Fatehpur Beri in South Delhi.
As per police officials, at least 30 people were near the dance floor when Raju Singh and his bodyguard, Hari Singh, started firing. While Hari had a rifle, Raju Singh was firing from his pistol. Among those present on the dance floor were the 42-year-old architect and author, Archana Gupta, and her husband, Vikas Gupta. Amidst the dancing, one of the bullets hit Archana on the back of her head, after which she was rushed to Fortis Flt Lt Rajan Dhall Hospital in Vasant Kunj. She arrived in the emergency room at 12:18 AM, still alive. However, despite the best efforts to save her, she passed away two days later.
At that time, police recovered two rifles and at least 800 live bullets from Singh’s farmhouse. The then Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), Vijay Kumar, confirmed that Singh, who was earlier booked for attempted murder under IPC (Indian Penal Code) Section 307, was now being booked under Section 302 and charged with murder. A few hours later, Singh and his bodyguard were arrested by the police near Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.
After his arrest, the JD(U) distanced itself from Singh. Sanjay Jha, who was a national general secretary of JD(U) and is now a Union Minister, had stated that Singh had left the party in 2014.
As per police officials, Singh and his associates had offered Rs 5,000 to disc jockeys (DJs) at the party to wash blood off the floor. When the DJs refused, Singh’s family cleaned it themselves. This statement was made part of the charge sheet.
While responding to these allegations, Singh had , at that time, told the media, “It was an unfortunate incident. It was just the wrong time.” According to the police, Singh was drunk when he allegedly took out the pistol to shoot in the air.
Singh entered politics in 2005. He was first elected as an MLA on a Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) ticket in the February 2005 polls, but in October 2005, he switched to the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) and won again. Later, in 2010, he was re-elected from the same constituency.
In 2015, Raju Singh left JD(U) and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but he lost in that year’s assembly elections. However, in 2020, he contested and won the election on a Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) ticket. Later, he left VIP and rejoined BJP.
In total, he has been elected as an MLA four times.
Singh, as per local leaders, has been provided with central security forces cover.
At the time of filing this story, Nitish Kumar had not distributed the portfolios. Sources said that Singh’s name, after being confirmed by party president Jagat Prakash Nadda last week based on the recommendation shared by the state unit, was forwarded to the Chief Minister’s Office.