From Pappu to Anandpal Singh: The story behind the making of a dreaded criminal in Rajasthan

Jaipur: Anandpal Singh who was gunned down by an SOG team on Saturday night is often described by his family members and villagers as being an ordinary boy when he grew up in non-descript Sanwrad village of Nagaur district’s Ladanu area.

Rajasthan police have appealed for people not to glamorize the criminal. Read more: Do we want to make our children notorious like Anandpal Singh, asks Rajasthan police

Read Also: Anandpal encounter: IPS Dinesh MN does it again, gangster traced under his supervision

From losing a panchayat election and trying to become a government teacher to gaining notoriety as the most dreaded criminal in Rajasthan, Anandpal’s story is nothing less than a Bollywood potboiler. He had been a major headache for the state police for several years.

It is believed that he had tried his hands at several businesses before he became a wanted criminal. He ran a cement business. His family members have told the media in interviews that he also used to run a dairy farm and keep more than 80 cows and buffaloes, but dirty politics made him step into the world of crime. He held Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree.

Read Also: Tension simmers in Anandpal village; police force deployed

The legend of Anadpal grew in part due to the the fact that he was a Rajput and had taken on gangs dominated by Jats.

The irony is that many of his gang members were jats. Jeevan Ram Godara who Anandpal was accused of killing in broad daylight, was one of his closest allies.

Godara, a Jat student leader, became his friend when Anandpal was getting married in 1992. Some ‘dabanggs’ in Anandpal’s village didn’t let him ride on a horse when his marriage procession was being taken out.

Godara and his gang members stood guard in the village to make sure that nobody dared to stop the procession. In 2006, Jeevan Ram Godara was accused of killing an army man, Madan Singh, who was a Rajput. Anandpal and Jeevan Ram became enemies after this murder. Anandpal was accused of killing Jeevan Ram in broad daylight in 2006. It was his first murder.

In the past 25 years, nearly 37 cases including 6 murder cases were registered against Anandpal. The murder of Gopal Phogawat, a Jat Mahasabha leader, in 2006 made him a dreaded criminal in the state.

Anandpal was probably the only criminal in Rajasthan for whom his aides never hesitated to scarify themselves. In a gangwar in Bikaner Central Jail in July, 2014, his close aide, Balveer Banuda, jumped in front of bullets when Anandpal’s enemies tried to shot him to death.

Anandpal Singh.

Read Also: Anandpal encounter: IPS Dinesh MN does it again, gangster traced under his supervision

Anandpal’s political ambitions began to take shape in 1999-2000 when he fought the election for panchayat samiti member of Sawarad village. He won and later fought the election of pradhan of Ladanu panchayat samiti. He was defeated by a margin of two votes by Jagnath Burdak, the son of former cabinet minister Harajiram Burdak.

In November, 2000, election for Ladanu panchayat samiti committees took place. Anandpal and a senior Congress leader at that time came in direct conflict. A police case was lodged against Anandpal for disrupting government work when he didn’t let a contender file nomination for the election.

Anandpal Singh police encounter in Churu: The criminal was killed after being on the run for nearly one and a half years.

Supporters of Anandpal alleged that under pressure from senior police officers and politicians at that time, the IPC sections related to threatening, extortion and violence were added to make the case non-bailable.

Read Also: Anandpal Singh killed in police encounter near Churu’s Malasar

Anandpal then stepped into the world of crime and soon gained the image of a Robin Hood-style criminal in his community in Ladanu, Didwana and other nearly areas. His journey came to an end with the police encounter in Malasar village of Churu on Saturday night.

Anandpal got involved in illegal liquor trade and made enemies out of people who were already in the dirty business. His name cropped up in sensational murders of Gopal Fogawat and Jeevanram Godara (2006).

Anandpal was fond of AK-47 guns. When he was arrested from a farm house near Jaipur in 2012, he was found in possession of anAK-47, bullet-proof jackets and bullets. He allegedly used an AK-47 to fire on policemen at the time of his encounter also.

His daughter Cheenu studied in Dubai.

Anandpal’s daughter

Anandpal fled from the police custody in September, 2015 when he was being taken to Ajmer high security jail from a court hearing. He moved to the number-1 slot on the list of most wanted criminals in Rajasthan. He carried the highest cash reward Rajasthan police has ever offered  – Rs 5 lakh.

There were reports that Anandpal had fled to Dubai, but they turned out to be rumours. Rajasthan police has spent crores of rupees on resources for catching the criminal.

After escaping from police custody, Anandpal was accused of killing a policeman when a police patrolling team tried to stop his vehicle in Gudha Bhagwandas.

The Rajasthan police in a statement said that Anandpal and his brothers amassed huge wealth after entering the world of crime.

“Anandpal’s brother Manjeet Singh was in prison in a murder case since 2006. He himself and another brother Vikki had been on the run from the law. There are no known source of income for the family, but Anandpal’s daughter spent nearly Rs 20 lakh on engineering studies in Dubai,” said the statement.

The statement further said that Anandpal’s another daughter was studying at an expensive school in Pune and the same was true for his son.

“There are two flats owned by the family in Jaipur’s posh colonies. Each one of them is valued more than Rs 60 lakh. The police confiscated nearly 370 bigha of land,” said the statement adding that there are immovable properties in Kuchaman, Jaipur, Hanumangarh, Sikar and Churu. The family also owns a mine in Makrna, apart from several ‘benami’ properties.

After his encounter, Anandpal’s lawyers alleged that the criminal was privy to ‘dirty’ secrets of some minister in the BJP government. It was why he was killed in a police encounter, they alleged without naming the ministers.

His arch rival, Raju Theth is currently behind bars.

Rajasthan police have appealed for people not to glamorize the criminal. Read more: Do we want to make our children notorious like Anandpal Singh, asks Rajasthan police

Read Also: Policemen involved in Anandpal encounter to be rewarded: Rajasthan DGP Manoj Bhatt

Read Also: Tension simmers in Anandpal village; police force deployed

Read Also: Anandpal encounter: IPS Dinesh MN does it again, gangster traced under his supervision