When a CM kept an officer waiting

THE Modi government had refused to act swiftly against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The story about his ‘sexual exploits’ refuses to fade with time, like most such stories do. And the women wrestlers refuse to back down despite the efforts of the Sports Ministry and Brij Bhushan himself.

The Maharashtra CM’s hesitation resulted in Bhai Thakur and Brij Bhushan Sharan going scot-free.

On Sunday, Brij Bhushan held a massive roadshow in Gonda, his hometown, which is part of the Kaiserganj Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Present at the rally were massive crowds from nearby villages, along with the MLAs of Gonda, Bahraich, Shravasti and Balrampur, all of whom are his ardent supporters.

There cannot be an iota of a doubt that Brij Bhushan is mightily popular in Kaiserganj and the surrounding areas. He owns over 50 schools and colleges in and around Gonda, besides a hospital and a hotel. His helicopter is always ready for take-off! It stands permanently in his backyard.

Brij Bhushan is a very influential man with lots of money to spend. In my city, Mumbai, ganglord Arun Gawli comes to mind. He is a veritable Robin Hood. Proceeds of his criminal activities are shared with the needy in his constituency. When people require money for marriages, funerals or repairs of their homes, Gawli is always there to help. That is why he is so popular. That is why he gets elected repeatedly. So must it be with Brij Bhushan. He has money which he does not need and is willing to share.

Though his party has not announced its candidates, he has openly stated his determination to contest the next Lok Sabha elections in 2024 from Kaiserganj. I dare say he can also influence voters in a few neighbouring constituencies. The BJP, which is preparing to capture two-thirds of the Lok Sabha seats, needs every seat in Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs to the Lower House. It may help Brij Bhushan wriggle out of the situation even if that costs the party and its leader some loss of its reputation as ‘the party with a difference’.

That also explains the Sports Ministry’s initial dithering in the colourful MP’s case. The BJP’s misfortune is that some of the girls involved in the complaint against Brij Bhushan are not pushovers. It will be difficult for the Sports Minister to get around them. These girls are internationally known medal-winners. When wrestling, they refuse to surrender even if the odds are stacked against them. That trait is apparent here as well.

Finally, a chargesheet has been filed against Brij Bhushan. However, had he been an Opposition leader, it would not have taken more than a few minutes for his arrest. He would have landed in Tihar jail. Fortunately for him, he has an ‘insurance cover’. He is with the party in power!

Brij Bhushan came to the adverse notice of the Mumbai Police in 1992. It all started with a shootout in JJ Hospital, where a gangster, Haldankar, owing allegiance to a gang inimical to Dawood Ibrahim, was admitted for treatment. The man had been arrested for shooting Dawood’s brother-in-law. He was guarded by two policemen. Dawood hired a hitman belonging to the gang of Subhash Singh Thakur to kill Haldankar. Subhash hailed from UP and was known to Brij Bhushan.

The hitman entered the room which Haldankar was occupying and shot two policemen before pumping bullets into the gangster. The hitman then sought shelter in a suburb of the city. This was arranged through the good offices of a Congress leader from UP, Kalpnath Rai, who was a minister in the Central government, claimed the CBI.

The gang war did not end there. Its reverberations were felt in far-off Nepal where three men were killed in retaliation. SS Suradkar, DIG (Thane), learnt that Brij Bhushan had sheltered Bhai Thakur, a Mumbai-based ganglord, at the behest of Subhash Thakur in his official MP’s residence in Delhi for many days in 1993. Suradkar told me that he had collected good evidence against Bhai Thakur and his gang and had sought the DGP’s permission to prosecute under TADA another senior police officer, whom he felt was protecting the gang, and Brij Bhushan.

The DGP hesitated. He asked Suradkar to apprise the CM of his intent. The CM asked Suradkar to ‘wait’. He waited till the ‘wait’ became indefinite and he was shifted out. The CM’s hesitation resulted in Bhai Thakur and Brij Bhushan going scot-free. But Brij Bhushan’s sheltering of Dawood’s associates came up in the TADA court of Judge SN Dhingra in Delhi and was noted by the Mumbai Police.

The hold of the political class on the police and, through that stranglehold, on the rule of law can be gauged by this instance. An open-and-shut case was not allowed to be correctly presented in the court because of the then CM’s hesitation to act against a noted offender, Bhai Thakur. Brij Bhushan could also have been booked in that case.

Six gangsters of the Bhai Thakur gang were convicted under TADA in the Palghar case pertaining to the 1989 murder of builder Suresh Dube. Retired Supreme Court Judge DP Wadhwa, speaking to IPS probationers at their academy in 2000, mentioned that this case’s investigation was what the judiciary expected from honest policemen. The Judge was addressing the probationers on ‘Expectations of the Judiciary from Senior Police Officers towards Greater Coordination’.

The politicisation of the police is easily the deadliest noose around the neck of the police machinery. Unless the police are allowed operational freedom from political interference in the investigation of crime, as exists in advanced democracies, characters such as Bhai Thakur and Brij Bhushan will thrive. All talk of police reforms should revolve around this crucial factor of functional independence.