Anand Pal Singh – Manjeet Singh
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Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: IND34080 Country: India Date: 2 December 2008 Keywords: India – Rajasthan – BJP – Anand Pal Singh – Manjeet Singh This response was prepared by the Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. This research response may not, under any circumstance, be cited in a decision or any other document. Anyone wishing to use this information may only cite the primary source material contained herein. Questions 1. Can you see what information you can find on Anand Pal Singh and his brother Manjit (or Manjeet) Singh? RESPONSE 1. Can you see what information you can find on Anand Pal Singh and his brother Manjit (or Manjeet) Singh? A number of news reports and a Rajasthan High Court judgement provide information which suggests that Anand Pal (or Anandpal) Singh and his brother Manjit (or Manjeet) Singh were involved in a shooting incident in June 2006 in which five members of the Jat community in Didwana (Deedwana) in Rajasthan were injured, two of whom subsequently died. Articles reporting on the June 2006 incident include allegations that the perpetrators had links with local Ministers in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Two articles were found which mention Anand Pal by name. Anand Pal Singh is described in a 29 July 2006 article as “the main murder accused”. He and his brother are described as wanted criminals in the two articles found. According to these articles Manjit Singh was arrested in Uttar Pradesh in July 2006. A Rajasthan High Court judgement in November 2007 dismisses a petition by Manjit (Manjeet) Singh against his conviction. The judgement provides background on the incident. Anandpal Singh’s alleged role is described here, but no information was found on whether he was arrested and charged. He is not included as one of the six petitioners in the High Court judgement. Apart from reports on the Didwana incident, no other information was found on Anand Pal or Manjit Singh in English-language sources (articles mentioning Anand Pal and Manjit Singh: ‘Former Ranji player nabbed by STF’ 2006, Times of India, 30 July – Attachment 1; ‘Two arrested for Didwana murder’ 2006, OneIndia, 29 July http://news.oneindia.in/2006/07/29/two-arrested-for-didwana-murder-1154145120.html – Accessed 27 November 2008 – Attachment 2; for articles describing the Didwana incident and alleged links between the accused and BJP politicians, see: Sebastian, S. 2006, ‘Fissures surface in Jat-BJP ties in Rajasthan’, The Hindu, 21 July http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/21/stories/2006072112180500.htm – Accessed 27 November 2008 – Attachment 3; ‘Rajputs demand CBI probe into firing case’ 2006, The Hindu, 4 July – Attachment 4; for the High Court judgement, see: Manjeet Singh v. State of Rajasthan – CRLR Case No. 1173 of 2007 [2007] RD-RJ 5652 (30 November 2007), Indian Courts website http://courtnic.nic.in/jodh/judfile.asp?ID=CRLR&nID=1173&yID=2007&doj=11/30/2007 – Accessed 27 November 2008 – Attachment 5). Articles mentioning Anand Pal (and Manjit Singh) A 30 July 2006 Times of India article reports on the arrest in Uttar Pradesh of Manjit Singh, a “wanted criminal”. The article also mentions his brother, Anand Pal, who is described as “a listed criminal of Rajasthan”. The article states that Anand Pal is “into the hawala business” (money laundering). The full article follows: A former Ranji Trophy player from Rajasthan and his aide were arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) here on Friday morning following a tip from Rajasthan that the two were wanted criminals carrying a cash reward of Rs 25,000 each announced by the Rajasthan police. The two have been on the run for the last three years. Senior superintendent of police (STF) SK Bhagat said on a request of Rajasthan police that two of their wanted criminals were hiding in UP, the STF took to extensive verification of phone calls being made out of UP. Shortlisting the cellphone numbers one after the other, the sleuths zeroed in on two suspects and finally tracked them down near HAL crossing in Ghazipur police circle of the state capital on Friday morning. The two were Manjit Singh and Sanjay Pandey of Nagaur district in Rajasthan. The STF team that executed the operation included SP Vijay Bhushan and deputy SP Shahab Rasheed Khan. During interrogation, Sanjay Pandey revealed he was state level cricketer and even represented the state in Ranji Trophy and other state level trophies in 1996 and 1997. He was also president of Nagaur University Students Union (NUSU) during his student days. Sanjay said it was during his days in student politics that he came in contact with Anand Pal – a listed criminal of Rajasthan who was into hawala business. Soon Sanjay joined Anand and came close to his younger brother Manjit Singh and the two have been together since then. Giving crime history details of the accused, Shahab said Sanjay Pandey has eight criminal cases registered against him while Manjit Singh has a total of 13 cases. The cases include those of murder, dacoity, robbery and assault lodged with Nagaur and Jhunjhunu district police (‘Former Ranji player nabbed by STF’ 2006, Times of India, 30 July – Attachment 1). A 29 July 2006 article also reports on the arrest of Manjit Singh in relation to the Didwana (or Deedwana) murder case (the following articles provide further details). The article describes Manjit as the “brother of the main murder accused Anand Pal Singh”. The article states: Two people were arrested in Lucknow in connection with double murder case in Didwana. The police had announced a reward of Rs 25,000 each for their arrest. The murders of Jivan Ram Godara and Harphool Ram Jat in Didwana had created tension in the town. Moreover the Jat community has been sitting on dharna demanding the immediate arrest of the culprits, ever since the murders took place earlier this month. Additional director general of police (Crime) A K Jain said the joint operation of Nagaur police and Uttar Pradesh police resulted in the arrest of Manjit Singh and his accomplice Sanjay Pandey in Lucknow late night on Thursday. Mr Jain said Singh and Pandey had fled to Nepal and then Maharajganj Gonda Balrampur and several other places. The police had information that these two would come to Uttar Pradesh. A team led by Additional Police Superintendent Arsad Ali left for Lucknow and conducted several raids at different places. Manjit Singh (30) is, a resident of Jaswantgarh district in Nagaur and brother of the main murder accused Anand Pal Singh. Two cases of murder and a case of illegal possession of arms is lodged against Singh While Pandey (25), a resident of Ladnu district in Nagaur has several cases of dacoity lodged against him (‘Two arrested for Didwana murder’ 2006, OneIndia, 29 July http://news.oneindia.in/2006/07/29/two-arrested-for-didwana-murder- 1154145120.html – Accessed 27 November 2008 – Attachment 2). Other articles describing the Didwana incident Although it does not name the accused, a 21 July 2006 article in The Hindu refers to the murders of the two Jats in Deedwana, the alleged lack of action on arresting the accused, and problems between the Jat community and the BJP in Rajasthan. The article reports allegations by a Jat leader that there may be a “nexus between three Ministers in the Raje Government from Nagaur district and the accused”: The Jat community’s honeymoon with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan appears to have ended in the wake of the recent murders of its leaders in Sikar and Nagaur and the general resentment over the community being sidelined by the State Government. The twin murders in Deedwana town in Nagaur district have once again placed the old caste rivals, the Rajputs and Jats, in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation making the balancing act between the two warring communities difficult for the Vasundhara Raje Government. Govt. warned At a well-attended public meeting in Deedwana earlier this week addressed by leaders from the Congress, the BJP and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Jat Mahasabha warned the State Government against any further delay in arresting the killers of Jeevanram Godara and another person in June. The Mahasabha, which earlier had announced a siege in Deedwana on July 8, finally held it on July 18. … Rajasthan Jat Mahasabha president Rajaram Meel, who lately has been speaking aloud against the State Government, hinted at the alleged nexus between three Ministers in the Raje Government from Nagaur district and the accused (Sebastian, S. 2006, ‘Fissures surface in Jat-BJP ties in Rajasthan’, The Hindu, 21 July http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/21/stories/2006072112180500.htm – Accessed 27 November 2008 – Attachment 3). A 4 July 2006 article reports on conflict between the Rajput and Jat communities in Rajasthan resulting from the murders. The article states: The Rajasthan Government’s action of suspending two police officers and registration of FIR in a firing incident in Didwana this past week -- in which two Jat youths were killed in broad daylight -- has led to resentment among Rajputs, who have accused the Government of showing bias and demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter. Leaders of the Rajput Sabha, who had earlier decided to hold a massive rally outside the Secretariat here on Tuesday to protest against the Government’s action, deferred their plan till July 20 following talks with Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore and Parliamentary Secretary Bhawani Singh Rajawat here on Monday.