When a Dhanbad court Wednesday acquitted former BJP MLA from Jharia, Sanjeev Singh, and 10 other accused in the 2017 murder of his cousin and former Dhanbad deputy mayor Neeraj Singh, citing lack of evidence, it put the spotlight back on the sensational case that had once sent shockwaves through Jharkhand’s political and business circles.
On the evening of March 21, 2017, Congress leader Neeraj Singh was travelling in an SUV along with his bodyguard, driver, and personal assistant when four motorcycle-borne assailants intercepted the vehicle and opened fire. All four men died on the spot.
Inspecting the site a day later, the police said more than sixty rounds went off from AK-47 rifles and pistols to target Neeraj. The attack bore the marks of a carefully planned ambush on his vehicle.
The incident had brought into focus again the political and business rivalries surrounding the coal trade in Dhanbad.
Within two days of these killings, the police registered an FIR in which they named Sanjeev Singh, BJP MLA at the time, and five others as accused. They alleged the case was part of a conspiracy emerging from the bitter rivalry between the cousins, which was said to have stemmed from a struggle over political legacy and business control after the death of their family patriarch and Dhanbad don Surya Deo Singh in the mid-1990s.
The police investigations led to the arrest of several alleged shooters who were tracked down by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) in May 2017.
The case moved slowly through the courts, with many twists and repeated doubts about the evidence.
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In September 2022, a Dhanbad court acquitted four shooters and two others in an additional case stemming from the killings, citing lack of evidence and witnesses.
One of the accused who continued to remain in jail, Aman Singh, was shot dead inside the Dhanbad jail in 2023.
There had been no movement in the case until Wednesday when a special MP-MLA court in Dhanbad acquitted all of the remaining 11 accused, including Sanjeev.
Fresh tensions
The court’s verdict has led to new rifts coming to the fore in Dhanbad politics. For Sanjeev’s family, the ruling has come as a relief.
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Sanjeev’s wife and current Jharia BJP MLA, Ragini Singh, said: “This is the arrival of the truth, the truth from God and the court together. The happiness has spread across the koylanchal (coal belt).”
On the question of Sanjeev’s return to the political field, she said people were waiting for him. “I also want to present him back in front of the people. Who else would wait for their leader for eight years like this? For a housewife, stepping into politics was a huge challenge, but people supported me,” she said.
In sharp contrast, Neeraj’s wife and former Congress MLA Purnima blamed the previous Raghubar Das-led BJP government for “failing” to provide justice to her slain husband.
“The whole investigation now looks like it was botched up from day one. It happened during the BJP regime, and we demanded a CBI investigation… We held a dharna opposite the Assembly. And now, if there is nothing in the investigation, who is to be blamed? Who is responsible for the botched investigation?” she asked.
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Purnima also alleged that Ragini was in “revenge mode” and claimed that her family’s life was at stake.
“She (Ragini) blames the officers for arresting her husband, but it was their (BJP) government and their officers. Now, she has the audacity to warn people… It is a clear signal when she warns people, she is warning us,” Purnima said.
Purnima also accused the Sanjeev Singh family of being allegedly involved in various crimes in the past. “Whoever stood against them in Jharia or Dhanbad was killed…This is not what I say, records say it,” she alleged.
She also added, “My husband died two deaths — once on March 21 (the day of the murder) and the second on August 27 (the day of the court ruling). At the end of the day, it is like no one killed Neeraj.”