Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case: Uday Pratap to visit Varanasi, formal announcement about his role likely

Uday Pratap Singh, referred to as the “Bade Raja” of the Bhadri estate in Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, will visit Varanasi on Thursday when a formal announcement about his role as the pleader in the Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case is likely to be made at a press conference here.

Making this claim, Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh (VVSS) national president Santosh Singh on Wednesday said Uday Pratap will be present at the press conference on Thursday and visit the district court on Friday (July 7), the next date of hearing in the Shringar Gauri and seven related cases.

The development comes around a month after Rakhi Singh, the main plaintiff in the Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case, wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and sought permission for euthanasia over false propaganda against her.

Rakhi Singh, along with four Varanasi-based women -- Rekha Pathak, Manju Vyas, Sita Sahu, and Lakshmi Devi -- had filed the Shringar Gauri case in the court of civil judge (senior division) Varanasi in August 2021. The plaintiffs sought permission for daily worship at Maa Shringar Sthal in the Gyanvapi complex.

Santosh Singh also said office bearers of his organisation would honour Uday Pratap in a programme in Varanasi on Thursday in the presence of Jitendra Singh Visen, the VVSS international president.

Visen has so far been the pleader in the case on behalf of Rakhi Singh. He is also her uncle.

Earlier, on June 8, Uday Pratap Singh had visited Visen’s residence in New Delhi and met Rakhi Singh. During that visit, Uday Pratap gave the assurance that he would handle the case, Visen had said.