Ranveer Sena chief murder case: Former Bihar MLC named as main accused in CBI charge sheet

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has named former Bihar legislator Hulas Pandey as the mastermind in the murder of Bramheshwar Singh Mukhiya, the founder and head of erstwhile private upper caste militia Ranveer Sena, as it filed a supplementary charge sheet in the 2012 case.

Mukhiya (70), who himself was accused in 22 murder cases, was shot dead by unidentified assailants at Katira under Ara town police station in Bhojpur district on June 1, 2012.

In its charge sheet filed before the Ara district court designated to hear cases against MP/MLA on December 16, the federal probe agency has alleged that Pandey, who was then a Janata Dal (United) member of legislative council, fired six bullets at Mukhiya near the latter’s home in Bhojpur.

Following the filing of the charge sheet, Pandey, who had switched over to the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) from the JD(U), resigned from the post of chairman of the parliamentary board of Chirag Paswan-led party on December 19.

Elaborating on the motive behind the crime, CBI has alleged that Pandey feared “loss of his political clout” due to Mukhiya’s growing popularity among “upper caste farmers” in Buxar, Bhojpur, Rohtas, Gaya, Jahanabad and Aurangabad districts. Pandey, who was elected to the MLC seat in 2010 from Ara-Buxar segment, also enjoyed backing of the same communities in the region.

“Then MLC of Janata Dal (United) Hulas Pandey conspired with Abhay Pandey, Nand Gopal Pandey alias Fauzi, Ritesh Kumar alias Monu Singh, Amitesh Kumar Pandey alias Guddu Pandey, Prince Pandey, Baleshwar Rai, Manoj Raj alias Manoj Pandey to eliminate Mukhiya,” the charge sheet, seen by HT, said.

CBI has described Pandey as the “kingpin” in the case. It added that around 4am on June 1, 2012, Hulas Pandey fired six rounds on Mukhiya from “his 7.65 bore pistol”, while two of his aides pinned him down.

“…After killing Mukhiya, Hulas and Baleshwar Rai left the place in Scorpio driven by Manoj Rai towards Ara railway station and rest of the people fled the scene on foot,” the charge sheet said.

Citing the CFSL, New Delhi report, CBI said all bullets were fired from one country-made firearm. However, during the course of investigation, the firearm used in the crime could not be recovered, the agency said.

CBI deputy superintendent of police, V Dixit, the investigation officer, prayed before the special court that “necessary process may kindly be issued for calling the accused persons to the court for trial accordingly”.

Pandey has rejected the allegations, saying his name was dragged in the case as part of a “political conspiracy”.

“This is a political conspiracy against me. My name has appeared in the case after a gap of more than 11 years,” he told reporters after the charge sheet was filed against him.

On his resignation from the LJP (Ram Vilas), Pandey, who is considered close to Chirag Paswan, said: “I resigned from the post of party’s parliamentary board chairman because I didn’t want to defame the party and its top leaders.”

Earlier, a case was registered at the Ara police station on complaint of Mukhiya’s son Indu Bhushan. Mukhiya’s murder had sparked large-scale violence in Ara and Patna by his supporters.

A political science graduate from Patna University, Mukhiya founded private militia Ranvir Sena in 1994 in Bhojpur to counter the growing influence of communists and Maoist forces, who were supported by members of backward castes and Dalits against their oppression by upper castes, in the region. Mukhiya was accused in 22 cases of murder of Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)-Liberation members between 1995 and 2000.

Ranvir Sena was responsible for plotting 29 caste massacres, killing at least 300 people, mostly from the backward and Dalit communities.

As per the charge sheet, Mukhiya was arrested in August 2002 and was released from jail after his acquittal in 16 out of the 22 cases on July 2011. His son, Indu Bhusan, heads the Akhil Bhartiya Rashtravadi Kisan Sangathan (ABRKS), an outfit that Mukhiya had floated after Ranvir Sena was banned by the Bihar government in 1995.

The Bhojpur police, which initially investigated the case, had arrested six people for Mukhiya murder. However, they were granted bail as the police could not produce evidence in the court.

In 2013, the Bihar government handed over the probe to CBI, which registered a fresh case on July 17, 2013, and announced cash reward of ₹10 lakh for providing substantial clues about the killers.

(With inputs from Prashant Ranjan, Ara)