Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Samajwadi Party has often been at the receiving end for its failure to control the spiralling cases of law and order violations as well as it tacit support to 'gundaraj' that is said to be prevailing in the state.
While there are ample cases that could stand testimony to the SP’s alleged leanings, this time, one if its own leaders appears to have substantiated the claims.
According to a report in Times of India, SP’s candidate from Mirapur Assembly constituency, Shahnawaz Rana, in an audio clip of a purported phone conversation, has admitted that he committed his first murder when he was just 12.
In the audio clip, which has now gone viral on social media, a party worker called Junaid Raza can be heard telling Rana that SP’s Saharanpur divisional in-charge Rajkumar Yadav and Maulana Nazar were trying to book him under the Gangster Act.
Rana then tells Raza not to worry and assured him that nobody would do anything against him. The two then abuse Yadav and Nazar before Rana’s confession of murder at 12.
“Yaar, ek baat toh batao, humse bada luchcha koi hai kya? Luchche mein luchcha, badmash mein badmash. Chal bata, mere se bada badmash kaunsa aur kitne dekhe tanne? Main toh, bete, 12-13 saal ki umar se maara-maari, murder-shurder se khel khel liye… Kya karein humein shareefon ka chola pehenna pad raha hai. Log pata nahi apne aap ko kya samajh lage. Pehla murder 12 saal ki umar mein kar diya tha. Kya hai 12 saal ki umar?” (Tell me something, have you seen a bigger goon than me? The biggest of goons and the biggest of criminals… Tell me, have you seen a bigger criminal than me? Son, I was playing games of violence and murder at the age of 12 or 13. What do I do now that I have to wear the garb of civility? I don’t know what these people think of themselves. I committed my first murder at the age of 12. How young is that?” the TOI quoted from the conversation.
Rana, however, denied that the voice in the five-minute audio clip was his and termed it a conspiracy by opponents trying to frame him.
“I have heard the clip and I can assure you that the voice in the audio clip is not mine. This has been doctored to frame me,” he said.
Rana, believed to be a Shivpal Yadav loyalist, figured in the first list of candidates released by the SP state chief.
