Dhananjay Singh is an Indian politician and a gangster who served as a two times MLA and a Member of Parliament from Jaunpur district, Uttar Pradesh.[1] In March 2024, he was sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping and extortion.[2]
Early life and career
Dhananjay Singh was born in Jaunpur on 16 July 1975 in a Chandel Rajput family. According to the Lok Sabha, he is also involved in business and farming.[3]
Personal life
Singh married his first wife, Meenu, on 12 December 2006. She died ten months later on 12 September 2007. Family members claimed that she committed suicide.[4][5] He married his second wife, Dr. Jagriti Singh, on 29 June 2009.[6] After mutual disagreement, they separated and he married his third wife, Srikala Reddy, a BJP politician, in 2017.[7][8] She won the Jaunpur zila panchayat (district council) chairperson poll in July 2021.[9]
Crime and Politics
Dhananjay Singh first became known as a student activist when he attended Tilak Dhari (TD) College in Jaunpur.[9] In the late 1990s, he studied at Lucknow University and graduated with a master's in political science, and also started gaining notoriety around this time for his involvement in gang activity.[3][10] His opposition to the Mandal Commission recommendations increased his political popularity.[9] Between 1996 and 2013, Singh had been charged four times under the Gangster Act.[11]
In October 1998, it was claimed by police that they killed Singh in an encounter in Bhadohi while he was robbing a petrol pump. However, he appeared in public alive four months later, leading to an investigation that filed cases on up to 34 officers for the false claim.[9]
Up to 2024, Singh has 41 criminal cases to his record, with ten still pending and others being dismissed or acquired, partially due to witnesses who later backed out.[9][2]
References
^Centre, National Informatics. "Digital Sansad". Digital Sansad. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
