Krishnanand Rai
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Krishnanand Rai (11 December 1956 – 29 November 2005) was an Indian politician from
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
. He served as a MLA from 2002 to 2005 representing Mohammadabad Assembly located at
Ghazipur Ghazipur is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ghazipur city is the administrative headquarters of the Ghazipur district, one of the four districts that form the Varanasi division of Uttar Pradesh. The city of Ghazipur also constitute ...
district. His first stint at politics was in year 1999 from same assembly seat, which he lost. He was the member of the
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
(BJP).


Early life and education

Rai was the youngest of three brothers born to Lalita Rai and Jagannath Rai in the village of Gondaur,
Ghazipur district Ghazipur district is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. The city of Ghazipur is the district headquarters. The district is part of Varanasi Division. The region of Ghazipur is famous mainly for the production of its unique ros ...
, Uttar Pradesh. With ample farm land around rich and fertile gangetic basin, the primary source of earning and livelihood for the family was agriculture. His mother died when he was a year old and thereafter he was raised by his grandmother. His early schooling was done at the native village. At the age of 13 he moved to
Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...
to join the Central Hindu School and later attended
Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...
, planning to study medicine. This was the time when he came across people like
Manoj Sinha Manoj Sinha (born 1 July 1959) is an Indian politician serving as the 2nd and the current Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He served as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Communications and Minister of State for Railway ...
(Lok Sabha MP), Narendra Singh (Professor of BHU) who later became his close friends. Due to financial constraints and series of untoward incidents at college, he ended up dropping out of school and sought work.


Career and politics

Rai began work as a
contractor A contractor is a person or company that performs work on a contract basis. The term may refer to: Business roles * Defense contractor, arms industry which provides weapons or military goods to a government * General contractor, an individual o ...
and became a well-known builder in Varanasi. His initial work included government funded roads, bridges etc. but later on he moved towards construction of residential buildings. After several ventures, he finally decided to do something he pined. He kept his aspirations of becoming a politician alive and represented Mohammadabad in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, becoming a member of the Purvanchal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). His close proximity to
Manoj Sinha Manoj Sinha (born 1 July 1959) is an Indian politician serving as the 2nd and the current Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He served as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Communications and Minister of State for Railway ...
was initial thrust for him to venture into politics. He promoted Hindu sentiments and the fact that he was a
Bhumihar Brahmin Bhumihars, also called Babhan, are a Hindu caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Nepal. The Bhumihars claim Brahmin status ...
, increased his influence. In 2002, he was elected to the
Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...
from the Mohammadabad constituency in Ghazipur. There he was a member of the
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
. He discovered politics to be a way to reward people. In 2017, his wife,
Alka Rai Alka Rai is an Indian politician associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Alka Rai contested the Uttar Pradesh assembly election held in 2017. She got elected from the Mohammadabad Assembly constituency, Mohammadabad constituency by de ...
won the assembly seat from Mohammadabad.


Murder

Rai was murdered on 29 November 2005, while attending a family wedding in his native village. He had been made aware of a death threat by Special Task Force officers, who warned him of hired killers at the residence of a local politician and gangster Mukhtar Ansari. He was coaxed to start a cricket match in
Siyari Siyari Rural Municipality (Nepali :सियारी गाउँपालिका) is a Gaunpalika in Rupandehi District in Lumbini Province Lumbini Province ( ne, लुम्बिनी प्रदेश, Lumbinī pradēśa) is a province ...
and was persuaded not to use his bullet-proof vehicle or guards. He was ambushed on his way back home by assailants who used automatic rifles. Seven people died in total. The killing caused an outrage in the region. Senior BJP leaders such as
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...
,
L. K. Advani Lal Krishna Advani (born 8 November 1927) is an Indian politician who served as the 7th Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004. Advani is one of the co-founders and a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is a longtime memb ...
,
Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician serving as the Defence Minister of India. He is currently the Deputy Leader of the House Lok Sabha. He is the former President of Bharatiya Janata Party. He has previously served as t ...
,
Kalyan Singh Kalyan Singh (5 January 1932 – 21 August 2021) was an Indian politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He served twice as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and as a Member of Parliament. He was the Chief minister of Utt ...
and
Manoj Sinha Manoj Sinha (born 1 July 1959) is an Indian politician serving as the 2nd and the current Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He served as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Communications and Minister of State for Railway ...
demanded a CBI inquiry but the government initially rejected their calls for fear of being indicted.
First Information Report __NOTOC__ A first information report (FIR) is a document prepared by police organisations in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan when they receive information about the commissio ...
s were filed against
Mukhtar Ansari Mukhtar Ansari (born 30 June 1963) is an Indian gangster and politician from Uttar Pradesh. He has been elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Mau constituency five times, including twice as a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate ...
and
Afzal Ansari Afzal Ansari (born 14 August 1953) is an Indian politician of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Member of Parliament (MP) of India for Ghazipur constituency, Uttar Pradesh. He won the 2004 general Lok Sabha election on the Samajwadi Party tick ...
but Bhajani Ram Meena, the Superintendent of Police (SP) appointed to investigate, left the case. He alleged undue pressure and asked for it to be transferred to the CBCID. After six months even the CBCID gave up the case complaining undue pressure. Finding no remedy, the wife of Krishnanand Rai filed a writ in
Allahabad High Court Allahabad High Court, also known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is the high court based in Prayagraj that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 17 March 1866, making it one of the oldest high ...
demanding a CBI inquiry into the killing of her husband. The writ petition in
Allahabad High Court Allahabad High Court, also known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is the high court based in Prayagraj that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 17 March 1866, making it one of the oldest high ...
by
Alka Rai Alka Rai is an Indian politician associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Alka Rai contested the Uttar Pradesh assembly election held in 2017. She got elected from the Mohammadabad Assembly constituency, Mohammadabad constituency by de ...
provides detail of thirty criminal cases against the Ansari brothers. The Court ordered a CBI inquiry in May 2006. Ansari was accused of ordering the killing and was placed in
Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
jail in 2010. He remains there as of April 2014 but the trial has yet to take place. Another person alleged to have been involved in the murder - Afroz, also known as Chunnu Pehlwan - was arrested in June 2014 and placed in judicial custody.


See also

*
List of assassinated Indian politicians This is an incomplete list of Indian politicians who were assassinated. See also * List of assassinations in Asia#India *List of assassination attempts on prime ministers of India References {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Assassinated Indian Polit ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rai, Krishnanand 1955 births 2005 deaths Assassinated Indian politicians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Uttar Pradesh Indian murder victims People murdered in Uttar Pradesh Politicians from Ghazipur Uttar Pradesh MLAs 2002–2007 2005 crimes in India 2005 murders in Asia