Amethi maharaj Sanjay Sinh in nasty property feud
Garima and her son are gradually expanding their support base in the area. A large number of men and women, who support her as the "real queen" of Amethi, gather at the palace in the morning and stay there till late night.
It's a royal drama over wealth and legacy which people of Amethi say could be the beginning of the end of a kingdom. The dramatis personae are 62-year-old Sanjay Sinh-the selfdeclared maharaj of Kachwaha dynasty, his first wife Garima, their 34-year-old son Anant Vikram Sinh, their daughters Mahima and Shaivya, besides Anant's wife Shambhavi. And yes, there's Amita too, Sanjay's second wife.
With all of them battling for the royal palace Bhupati Bhawan in Amethi, the plot of the drama is thickening by the day. Since July 25, this drama has been unfolding.
On that day, Garima Singh forcefully entered the palace along with Anant, Shambhavi, Mahima and Shaivya. War bugle was sounded loud, as they began to challenge both Sanjay and Amita, eyeing the family's legacy, political and otherwise.
Support base
Garima and her son are gradually expanding their support base in the area. A large number of men and women, who support her as the "real queen" of Amethi, gather at the palace in the morning and stay there till late night. Disgruntled subjects of the erstwhile kingdom are now promising Garima that they would attack anyone who would try to dislodge her from the palace. Two rooms on the first floor of the palace have become their nerve centre. The head of Paramhans Ashram in Tikarmafi area, Swami Dineshanandji, considered as an important spiritual guru of Amethi, has also said he would side with them.
Interestingly, a section of villagers believe the principality is cursed; whosoever becomes its close friend would die an unnatural death. They recall how late prime minister Indira Gandhi was very close to Rananjay Sinh who had adopted Sanjay Sinh. Indira's sons Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were good friends of Sanjay Sinh.
A curse
All the Gandhis died unnaturally. Later, badminton player Syed Modi-the first husband of Amita and a friend of the maharaj, was killed in Lucknow in 1988. The CBI chargesheeted Sanjay Sinh and Amita in the player's murder case.
But their names were dropped later. Sanjay married the widow of the badminton star in 1995.
According to an estimate, Sanjay and his second wife Amita Modi, aka Amita Sinh, own immovable wealth worth over Rs 2,000 crore. But Mahima has alleged that Amita has established a trust and has been gradually including all the properties of Bhupati Bhawan into this trust. "My father is completely in her grip for mysterious reasons and she is transferring all the immovable wealth of the principality to her trust. The property of our ancestors in Ameya-Mafi village under Bhetua block has also been included in the trust," Mahima said.
Although kings and queens don't exist in India any more, local people say that Amita loves to be addressed as "queen", the title bestowed on her by the "maharaj".
"She doesn't listen to us if we don't call her Raniji (Queen). Keeping her political fief intact is equally important for her. Amethi Assembly seat, which was previously represented by Sanjay, was handed over to her in 2002. She was elected thrice from there.
Now Anant wants to claim his right over not only the principality, but also his father's political fiefdom," said Bhrigu Singh, a local resident. "But those who know Sanjay claim that something very unpleasant can happen here any time. He is not only flamboyant but also ruthless on occasions," he further said. But Anant is hell-bent on challenging his father. "I came here to see whether people of Amethi and Sultanpur are happy. It was a barren land 100 years ago and my ancestors used to make arrangement for jobs and food for the people. But now I am pained to see that my father and Amita have abandoned them. They demand bribe from unemployed youths in return of any favour. Amita mistreats them. So I have decided to venture into politics and dislodge them to protect my people," Anant said.
'Maharani' Garima says Sinh's second marriage is illegal
Did Sanjay Sinh, the 'Raja of Amethi', marry Amita without divorcing his first wife Garima? She has alleged that the Congress leader had produced a "fake wife" at a Sitapur family court to get divorce from her.
"I remained silent for 18 years because my parents had suggested to me that I should not drag the dark side of the principality to the streets of Amethi. But now Sanjay Sinh is targeting my children and stripping them of their rights just because of a woman who he married illegally. I am here now to assert the rights of my children and warn him to mend his ways or face consequences," Garima said.
"I never gave him divorce and will never do it. He had produced a fake Garima Sinh in the Sitapur court. Later, I had moved the higher court against it. The high court and the Supreme Court have declared our divorce null and void. Now, his goons are attacking my children in Amethi," she said.
On July 25, the Bhupati Bhawan in Amethi had become the centre of Sanjay Sinh's family feud. Garima's son Anant Vikram Sinh with the help of his mother's supporters had thrown out the guards of Sanjay Sinh. Since then, Garima along with her son and two daughters has been staying at the Bhupati Bhawan.
Sanjay Sinh, however, maintained that he had divorced Garima in 1994. "I never got the happiness of married life with Garima. She siphoned off all movable wealth of the principality with the help of her family.
But I remained silent. I sustained bullet injuries in 1989 and was taken to London for treatment. I needed my wife most at that time, but Garima didn't accompany me. We got divorced in 1994 and I married Rani Amita Sinh with the consent of my children the next year. All my children lived with me for 18 years. But now all of a sudden, they are with Garima and levelling wild allegations against me," he added.
Sanjay and Amita, meanwhile, met UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday to seek his help over the issue.