Uttar Pradesh President of Vishwa Hindu Mahasabha Ranjeet Bachchan was shot dead in Lucknow by unknown assailants. The incident took place at Globe Park in Hazratganj area when Bachchan had gone for a morning walk. A total of eight teams have now been constituted to investigate the murder. It may be noted that Vishwa Hindu Mahasabha is a different organisation and should not be confused with more well-known Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, which is oftened shortened to Hindu Mahasabha.
Ranjeet was also very fond of cycling. In February 2002, Ranjeet and Nirmal had started off on a cycle yatra. After India, they travelled to the border areas of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar. They covered more than one lakh kilometres in their tour of all the then 28 states of India along with the Union Territories.
Ranjeet Bachchan is from Gorakhpur but has been living in Lucknow’s Hazratganj area for a while. He has been associated with the Samajwadi Party in the past. Later, he founded the Vishwa Hindu Mahasabha and became its head. In 2013, Ranjeet and Kalindi Nirmal Sharma had campaigned for the Samajwadi Party for six months. The two of them had been awarded a sum of Rs. 5 lakh each. The then Samajwadi Party government had allotted a government house for him as well. Ranjeet had also organized various cultural programs for Samajwadi Party.
As per reports, Ranjeet had married thrice. The first was arranged by his family a long time ago. He has a child from his wife as well. Later, between 2002 and 2009 during the cycle yatra, he had married Kalindi Nirmal Sharma. His third wife is one Nirmala Srivastava. It is said that there was a lot of strife initially between the two women but later on, the dispute was resolved and they had started living together. Ranjeet’s first wife Smriti is from Gorakhpur. It is reported that recently, he had gone to meet her there.
There is also a case of rape registered against Ranjeet Bachchan by the sister of Kalini. The case was registered in 2015 at Shahpur police station and is currently pending before the Court. There is another case registered against him in Gorakhpur in the matter of domestic violence. It is being said that he had been making a concerted attempt to establish himself as a ‘Hindu leader’. Recently, he had said that those protesting against CAA should consider moving to Pakistan.
The Police have not ruled out any aspect thus far and are investigating all angles. They are going through the CCTV footage for clues into the crime. They are also looking into the past disputes he might have had that could have possibly resulted in his death.
