Ex-BJP UP MLA serving life for SP leader’s murder freed: Who is Uday Bhan Karwariya?

On November 4, 2019, the Prayagraj district and sessions court had convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment Uday Bhan, a two-time BJP MLA, along with his two brothers — former BSP MP Kapil Muni Karwariya and ex-BSP MLC Suraj Bhan Karwariya — and their cousin Ram Chandra for their involvement in the killing of Jawahar Yadav. They had since been in jail.

The court had in 2018 rejected the state government’s plea to withdraw the murder case against Uday Bhan and other accused.

Uday Bhan is the second of the three Karwariya brothers. While he is now out of jail, his brothers and cousin remain imprisoned.

On July 19 this year, the state government issued order for Uday Bhan’s premature release in the wake of the Governor’s move to approve his mercy petition, said an official. In its order, the state government stated that Uday Bhan’s remission was based on the recommendations made by the senior superintendent of police (SSP) and the district magistrate (DM) of Prayagraj district, his “good conduct” in jail, and the recommendation of the mercy petition committee. The order noted that he had spent eight years, nine months, and eleven days in jail as of July 30, 2023.

In 2002, Uday Bhan, who belongs to one of the most influential families in Prayagraj, became the first person in his family to get elected as the MLA on the BJP ticket. His father Vashisht Narain Karwariya had also ventured into politics by contesting the Assembly elections twice as an Independent candidate earlier, but had lost both times.

Uday Bhan’s close associate Jitendra said the Karwariya family originally hailed from the neighbouring Kaushambi district which shifted to Prayagraj several decades ago.

In 1996, Uday Bhan was elected the president of the Allahabad District Cooperative Bank, marking the beginning of his political rise.

In the 2002 Assembly elections, he contested from Prayagraj’s Bara as a BJP candidate and won the seat. He was re-elected from the Bara seat in the 2007 Assembly polls. However, in the 2012 Assembly polls, when he contested from Allahabad North, he suffered defeat.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Uday Bhan’s elder brother Kapil Muni won from the Phulpur constituency on the BSP ticket. That same year, their younger brother Suraj Bhan became the BSP MLC.

The Karwariya family, which is from the Brahmin community, has had significant influence in the politics of Prayagraj, formerly known as Allahabad. It has various business interests, including hotels, construction and petrol pumps.The family also owns several shops from which it collects rents. However, it is primarily known in Prayagraj for its dominance in sand contracts.

When all three brothers were in prison, Uday Bhan’s wife Neelam Karwariya contested, successfully, the 2017 Assembly elections from Meja in Prayagraj on the BJP ticket. Neelam however lost the 2022 polls from the seat to the SP’s Sandeep Singh with a narrow margin.

According to various reports, Jawahar Yadav’s murder resulted from a business rivalry with Karwariyas, who have been the leading players in sand contracts. Tensions arose between them when Yadav entered the sand contract business.

On August 13, 1996, Yadav was travelling in a car with his associates when a group of assailants waylaid the vehicle in the Civil Lines area of Prayagraj, firing on them indiscriminately by using AK-47s. Yadav, then the SP MLA from the Jhunsi Assembly constituency, was killed in the attack along with two others, including his driver Gulab Yadav. This was the first time in Prayagraj when AK-47s were used in a murder case.

On Uday Bhan’s premature release, Yadav’s wife and four-time MLA Vijayma Yadav said she will move the court to challenge the state government’s decision to give him remission. Vijama won the 2022 Assembly polls from Pratappur in Prayagraj as the SP candidate.

A retired IPS officer, who spent a long time in Prayagraj, said that Uday Bhan’s father Vashisht, also known as Bhukkal Maharaj, held considerable sway in Prayagraj, deterring people from getting involved in any disputes with his family. After his death in 1991 in a road accident, his sons took over his businesses.

“Instead of getting involved in petty issues, Uday Bhan and his brothers focused on significant land and business matters. They also started engaging with political leaders and expanded their operations to neighbouring Banda and Chitrakoot districts,” said the ex-IPS officer.

He said Uday Bhan and his brothers generally avoided indulging in activities that could “tarnish their reputation due to their closeness with senior political leaders”. “Except for Jawahar Yadav, these brothers never engaged in conflicts with any other influential person on any matter,” he added.

Uday Bhan, who completed his engineering in electronics from a college in Mumbai in 1990, joined the family business after the death of his father.

Kapil Muni was the Kaushambi zila panchayat chairman in 2000. Before becoming an MLC, Suraj Bhan was the Manjhanpur block president in Kaushambi in 2009.