Terror of Bundelkhand Bhaiya Raja dead

BHOPAL: Former MLA Ashok Veer Vikram Singh alias Bhaiya Raja - known as face of terror in Bundelkhand region - died at Hamidia Hospital after a prolonged illness on Friday morning.
Bhaiya Raja, 65, had suffered a brain haemorrhage and was hospitalised on December 15. He was serving life imprisonment after being convicted for murdering his grandniece Vasundhara Bundela, a student of fashion designing course, at Misrod near here on December 11, 2009.Family members of Vasundhara had alleged Bhaiya Raja had sexually exploited her.
Besides life imprisonment, Bhaiya Raja along with his wife and former BJP MLA Asha Rani had been convicted in an abetment of suicide case of their domestic help for 10 years. Bhaiya Raja was also elected to MP Assembly as an Independent MLA from Pawai in Panna between 1990 and 1992. His body has been sent for post-mortem, family sources said. His last rites would be performed at his native place Gharwar on Saturday.
Niece's murder ends reign of terror
He started out as a petty criminal, who later drew support from the who's who and came to wield disproportionate clout, something not seen in the region in half a century. His name struck terror in the region.
Killing of his grandniece, Vasundhara, 20, in Bhopal, whose bullet-riddled body was found from Misrod area on December 11, 2009, done him in. He was convicted for her murder and was serving life term at Bhopal prison. He and his four accomplices were sentenced for life by additional district and sessions judge Sanjeev Kalgaonkar in 2013.
Stories abound that Bhaiya Raja would feed his enemies to crocodiles, though police have denied this. "Opposition to Raja Bhaiya, it was said, often found its way into the pond and crocodiles. We were cautious when we went to arrest him. I carried two pistols with me, one hidden inside my socks," recalls a police officer, who led a team that arrested Bhaiya Raja in 2009.
It's also alleged Bhaiya Raja used pythons to terrorise women if they refused to submit. He was also accused of raping and abetting the suicide of Tijji Bai, domestic help, who was found dead at his Bhopal home in November 2007.
His name was registered in police records for murder of Siddharth Rao - nephew of former Union home minister Buta Singh in Eighties.
In 2012, Bhaiya Raja landed in fresh trouble for manhandling and threatening a police officer in Bhopal district court premises. He threatened SHO, MP Nagar police station, after he stopped him from meeting supporters.
Bullet to ballot
Love him or hate him, he had an unparalleled clout in the region and political parties across the spectrum used him at some point of time to get support. Nobody knows whether the man from dust bowl of a non-descript Powai in Panna worked on his image to guard his interests as a feudal lord in backward Bundelkhand region or it was part of a myth-making game plan of politicians to surround him with an image of a desperado.
He was son-in-law of BJP leader Jujhar Singh. Bhaiya Raja started his political journey as an independent MLA after winning the 1990 assembly election from Pawai constituency. He was in jail during polls and was awarded election symbol 'elephant'. His supporters coined a slogan to 'attract' voters. "Muhar lagegi hathi mein, nahin to goli padegi chhati mein aurlash milegi dhati mein". (Vote on elephant or take a bullet on the chest and your body would be found in the valley). He created a sensation by riding an elephant when he came to Bhopal to take oath as MLA. Despite officials' plea to get down the pachyderm at assembly gate, he refused to do so and created a record, bad at best, by entering the old MP Assembly on the pachy. He was again elected in 1993 assembly election on a Congress ticket.
When Sundarlal Patwa's BJP government came to power in early 90s, this reservoir at Gaharwar in Panna, just opposite Singh's residence was bulldozed and destroyed.
In 1998, he had to vacate the seat for Mukesh Nayak, who is presently representing the seat. He contested as a Samajwadi Party candidate and lost. In 2008, BJP gave his first wife, Asha Rani, the ticket to contest from Bijawar seat in Chhattarpur and she won.