Rivalry for affection, power and privilege behind Sunday’s murder of ‘Hindutva’ leader?

As Lucknow police continue to unravel the latest murder mystery to hit the state capital and grope in the dark for clues and culprits responsible for the pre-planned murder of a Hindu outfit leader Ranjeet Bachchan in Hazratganj while he was out on a morning to walk on Sunday, people wonder why self-styled heads of Hindutva groups are being targeted.

Another relatively obscure Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari had been gunned down on October 18 last year.

Sunday’s murder has raised eyebrows and people and officials alike wonder why saffron-robed ‘ saints’ are being killed in Yogi Raj. Some attribute it to the turf war between Hindu chieftains while others blame it on te rivalry to corner political patronage showered by the Uttar Pradesh chief minister on these groups.

In the murder of Bachchan police have failed to find a terrorist link, while the link of the killers in Tiwari’s case had been quickly traced to Surat. Lucknow police with the help of its counterparts in Gujarat had arrested five persons, including the alleged killers — Ashfaq Husain and Moinuddin Ahmad (both of Surat), and conspirators — Maulana Mohsin Sheikh, Faizan Yunus, and Rashid Ahmed in Surat. But why terrorists from Gujarat would target the obscure Tiwari is still far from clear.

Tiwari was murdered at his office in Khurshed Bagh in Naka police station area in broad daylight following which the city had witnessed massive protests by party workers and supporters of Tiwari. The police had got a lead after they recovered a box of sweets containing the receipt of a famous sweet shop of Surat and later laid their hands on the alleged terrorists.

Naka police had also written to Interpol to help them nab one of the sympathisers from Nepal who had given shelter to Tiwari’s killers there. “Barring this, the case has nearly been wound up. Two of the conspirators are out on bail while the killers are cooling their heels in jail,” the sources said.

Since Yogi took charge of Uttar Pradesh, this is the second high-profile killing of a Hindutva outfit leader in the state capital. Police record says that seven sadhus have been killed in the last three years while another saffron leader Chinmayannad was arrested for raping a postgraduate girl student studying in his college and has just been given bail by the Allahabad High Court.

On the night of August 14-15, 2018 two sadhus were found murdered in a temple in Auraiya district. The hands and feet of the priests were found tied while their throat had been slashed by a sharp object. The incident happened at the Bhayanak Nath temple in Kundarkot village.

Locals alleged that the sadhus, identified as Lajja Ram Yadav and Harbhajan, used to raise their voice against cow smuggling and slaughtering prevailing in the area. They told police that they were lynched by people who were involved in cow smuggling.

On December 2019 a sadhu considered close to several senior BJP leaders from Uttar Pradesh was arrested on charge of murdering a disciple, apparently, after the man had threatened to expose illegal activities in the self-styled godman’s ashram.

The police registered a case against Maharaj, 55, and arrested him after realising that protests were mounting over the disciple’s murder in the ashram in Ninawali village in Rampura, Jalaun district.

Lucknow police, however, have claimed that Ranjeet’s murder on Sunday wasn’t linked to his Hindutva politics. “Based on an eyewitness statement and other facts corroborated by the police we are also looking at a domestic dispute which could be the prime reason for the killing,” a senior police official said.

Police have also released CCTV footage of the suspected killer and announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for information on him.

Ranjeet Bacchan was said to have been active in social work before he formed his party. He was the leader of a team that visited Bhutan on a cycle tour and was also the founder-member of Bharatiya Social Welfare Foundation in Gorakhpur.

His supporters said Ranjeet belonged to Kaushalya Ashram and was associated with social programmes on awareness of encephalitis, voter awareness, cleaning of statues of great social workers/saints and other such work in Gorakhpur.

He had married twice. His first wife, Smriti, lives in Gorakhpur, and he had visited her on Friday, as per the FIR filed in connection with his murder. His second wife Kalindi Sharma lived with him in Lucknow.

Ranjeet’s second marriage had reportedly been in trouble. In 2017, Ranjeet had been booked by the Gorakhpur police for assaulting Kalinidi’s sister “with intent to outrage her modesty”.

The Gorakhpur police had declared him an absconder and had made plans to seize his property.