LUCKNOW: Former deputy superintendent of police (DySP) Shailendra Singh, who resigned from the police services in 2004 when he fell out with then ruling Samajwadi Party government for recommending the arrest of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari under POTA, got a major relief when a Varanasi court accepted Yogi Aditaynath government’s decision to drop charges against the ex-cop that were allegedly slapped for challenging the might of the mafia don.
“It is a big relief to me and my family. Finally, the truth has prevailed. It was because of this criminal case that I was unable to get a passport, an arms licence,” said Shailendra talking to TOI on phone. He said the criminal case was a part of the arm twisting tactics of the powers that be to silence him and allow the dust to settle on the entire episode including his resignation from the police services.
The government had approached the court to drop charges against Shailendra, which was accepted on March 6. Shailendra was handed over a copy of the court order on Tuesday.
Widely known as an upright officer, DySP Shailendra’s resignation in February 2004 made national headlines when he faxed his resignation to the then governor Vishnu Kant Shastri after he was allegedly ‘asked by his higher-ups’ not to initiate POTA proceedings against Mukhtar Ansari in a gun running case. The move rocked the state assembly that was in session as the opposition mounted its attack on the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led government so much so that the chief minister who was on a tour to Auraiya cut short his schedule and flew back to Lucknow.
The then leader of opposition Lalji Tandon said the developments were indicative of a rot in the system. “It seems the state is heading towards the Constitutional breakdown and at some point of time, the governor might have to take cognizance for of such a situation for recommending the dismissal of the government," he had said. In a knee jerk reaction the government slapped a criminal case on Shailendra when he staged a sit-in outside the office of Varanasi District Magistrate (DM). Police later arrested him and he resigned from the service.
The incident came as a major blow to the morale of the Special Task Force which was constituted by the Kalyan Singh government in 1998 to tackle organised crime and had by then managed to earn a reputation of an elite crack force since it came into existence six years ago.
By then STF had conducted successful operations in several states primarily because of the support that it got from the political masters. Shailendra Singh episode had left the STF sleuths disheartened, recalls a senior police officer.
After his resignation, Shailendra decided to contest the 2004 Lok Sabha election from Varanasi as an independent candidate. He lost the 2009 Lok Sabha poll on the Congress ticket from Chandauli. In the 2012 assembly elections, he tried his luck on the Congress ticket from Saiyadraja assembly constituency in Chandauli but lost. He had an almost seven-year stint in the Congress where he headed the party’s RTI cell for UP. Singh joined the BJP on April 15, 2014. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Singh was in charge of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘war room’ in Varanasi.
In 2004, it all began when DySP Shailendra was directed by the then SPgovernment to keep a watch on associates of Mukhtar Ansari and then MLA Krishnanand Rai after the two sides exchanged fire in Cantonment police circle of Lucknow. The government was of the view that the standoff between the two could end up in a major crime which had to be averted. As surveillance was stepped up, on the basis of electronic evidence it was established that Mukhtar was in touch with an army deserter to buy a light machine gun. Mukhtar wanted the sophisticated weapon allegedly to eliminate Krishnanad Rai.
“Actually, Krishnanand Rai then moved in a bullet proof vehicle and use of normal rifles would not have helped. Hence Mukhtar wanted to buy a light machine gun (LMG) from an army deserter,” recollects Shailendra. The problem began when Shailendra initiated POTA proceedings against Mukhtar and others arrested in the case. Overnight not only Shailendra was shifted from Varanasi to Lucknow headquarters of STF but the then IG, DIG and SSP STF were transferred out for having failed to stop a DySP.
In November Shailendra was heading an agitation of students and had staged a sit-in at the office of DM Varanasi when an FIR (crime number 576/2004) was lodged against him for creating ruckus. The former DySP was booked under sections 143 (unlawful assembly) / 353 (Assault to deter public servant from discharge of duty) / 419 (cheating by personation) was slapped when he was accused of forcing himself into the office. On the initiative of the state government, the charges have now been dropped against him.