Maya further undone: Raja Bhaiyya to get property back

In a state that officially backs parties by inmates inside prison, Raja Bhaiyya has got another reason to throw one. In a reprieve to the Independent MLA and POTA detainee, Pratapgarh District Magistrate R.S. Verma has ordered that property and other valuables seized from his ancestral house during a drive launched by the previous Mayawati government be released, and handed over to his family.

In another case, a local court absolved Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya and his father Raja Uday Singh of an extortion charge. The case was filed two years ago on a complaint by former Congress MP Rajkumari Ratna Singh.

Ornaments and valuables worth crores were seized by police following raids in Raja Bhaiyya’s Bhadri house during Mayawati’s time. Police teams had dug up the lawn of the house, and announced the seizures with fanfare. Later, the Mayawati government had booked the MLA, his father and a relative under POTA.

However, the change of regime in UP has marked a change in Raja Bhaiyya’s fortunes. The Mulayam government has been saying that the POTA charges against him be dropped and two months ago, a state minister is believed to have organised the mushaira held in Pratapgarh jail in Raja Bhaiyya’s honour.