A former MP, Dhananjay Singh, was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined ₹50,000 by a local court in Jaunpur. This ruling came in response to a four-year-old case involving the kidnapping of a project manager from UP Jal Nigam.
The court found Dhananjay Singh and his associate, Santosh Vikram, guilty of kidnapping Abhinav Singhal, a project manager for the ‘Namami Gange’ initiative, as well as extortion. Additional Sessions Judge Sharad Kumar Tripathi delivered the verdict, resulting in both defendants being sent to judicial custody.
Abhinav Singhal, a resident of Muzaffarnagar, filed the case against Dhananjay Singh and Santosh Vikram in May 2020. The charges included kidnapping, extortion, and conspiracy. According to the district government counsel, Singhal alleged that Vikram and his accomplices abducted him and brought him to Dhananjay Singh’s residence. There, Singh reportedly threatened him with a pistol, pressured him to supply substandard materials, and demanded money when Singhal refused.
Dhananjay Singh, known as ‘Purvanchal Bahubali,’ has a history of political involvement in eastern Uttar Pradesh. He served as an independent MLA from the Rari constituency from 2002 to 2009 and later as a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP from 2009 to 2014. However, he was expelled from the BSP in 2011 due to alleged anti-party activities.
Despite his legal troubles, Dhananjay Singh remains politically active, currently affiliated with the Janata Dal (United). He has hinted at contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Jaunpur. Over the years, Dhananjay has faced numerous criminal charges, including multiple accusations under the UP Gangster Act. Despite facing over three dozen criminal cases by 2022, he has managed to secure acquittals in some instances, often due to witnesses retracting their statements.
