Munna Bajrangi: All you need to know about the gangster

Munna Bajrangi was an Indian politician, a known contract killer and a gang leader from eastern Uttar Pradesh. He was shot dead by gangster Sunil Rathiat in District Jail, Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh on July 9, 2018. He was shot ten times in the head within the jail premises. His death came a week after his wife, Seema Singh, said in a press conference that he would be targeted.

In the two decades that he was active, over 40 murders have been connected to him. Since 2009, he was in jail for the gangland murder of MLA Krishnanand Rai in 2005 and another BJP leader Ramchandra Singh. For many years, he supported the Samajwadi Party headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav, but the gang switched to Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party in mid-2000s. He fought elections while imprisoned in Tihar jail under Apna Dal and Peace Party of India in 2012 as trial proceedings were going on.

Here are key facts about Gangster Munna Bajrangi:

1. Born in 1967 at Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, Munna Bajrangi’s real name was Prem Prakash Singh.

2. He studied till grade 5 and was fond of arms since his teenage. The first case was filed against him when he was 17 years old. He was held for fighting and possessing illegal arms.

3. Bajrangi survived even after being shot nine times in an encounter in 1998 in Delhi.

4. He was part of Gajraj Singh’s gang in Jaunpur and later joined Mukhtar Ansari’s gang in the 90s. He was also known as Mukhtar Ansari’s right-hand man. Ansari’s gang had influence all over the Eastern Uttar Pradesh and was operated from the Mau region.

Also Read:Uttar Pradesh: Gangster Munna Bajrangi shot dead in Baghpat jail

5. Bajrangi was accused in over 40 murder and extortion cases and once carried a reward of Rs 7 lakh on his head.
He was arrested from Mumbai in October 2009, for the murder of BJP lawmaker Krishnanand Rai in 2005. Seven people died in total.

6. He was fond of weapons and aspired to become a “Bollywood-style gangster” even as teenager, say his aides.

In 2012, Bajrangi had contested the UP election from jail as a joint candidate of Apna Dal and the Peace Party. He lost to Samajwadi Party’s Shraddha Yadav and came in the third position.

7. In March 2016, Bajrangi’s younger brother-in-law Pushpajeet, who looked after his business, was killed in Lucknow. The case is still unsolved.

9. In 2017, the Uttar Pradesh government ordered the transfer of 48 criminals from their current jails to jails across other states. Bajrangi was one of them.