East Uttar Pradesh’s notable strongman and ex-MP Dhananjay Singh faced sentencing in a case for the first time ever. Dhananjay Singh received a seven-year prison term from the MP-MLA Court, for the kidnapping and intimidation of the Namami Gange project manager. Surprisingly, in this case, even when the complainant and witnesses recanted their statements, it was a WhatsApp message sent to police at the time of the incident that led to the conviction of the strongman.
That message became critical evidence in the investigation, leading to the charge sheet that finally imprisoned Dhananjay Singh after a 33-year cat-and-mouse game with the law, placing him behind bars.
There were once 43 cases filed against Dhananjay Singh. Over 33 years, the UP Police twice announced a bounty of 50,000 each on the strongman, now culminating with his imprisonment. Nine cases remain, which are under consideration in the courts of Jaunpur and Lucknow. Despite being charged with serious offenses like murder and death threats, Dhananjay Singh had never been sentenced before, but this time the case took a turn.
What was the case that led to Dhananjay Singh's conviction?
On May 10, 2020, a FIR was filed by Namami Gange's project manager Abhinav Singhal in Jaunpur's Line Bazaar Police Station against Dhananjay Singh, Vikram Singh, and two unknown individuals for kidnapping and extortion through intimidation. Singhal claimed receiving continuous calls from Vikram Singh's number to meet Dhananjay Singh. After a pre-Holi meeting, Vikram began calling again on May 4, and on May 10, 2020, he arrived on site with two others, ultimately taking Singhal to Dhananjay Singh's house where Singhal was threatened at gunpoint.
Following this written complaint, the then-Inspector Dinesh Prakash Shukla lodged an FIR. Dhananjay Singh and Santosh Vikram Singh were arrested the following day. The initial investigation was conducted by Sub Inspector Kaushalendra Pratap Singh from the Chaubia Dham police checkpoint, but when police sought to record the complainant's statement, Singhal retracted his claims, suggesting no such incident occurred nor was any complaint filed by him.
Despite Singhal's retraction, the case turned with the discovery of a WhatsApp message sent precisely when he was being taken to Dhananjay Singh's house. This message proved to be the linchpin in the subsequent conviction.
