LUCKNOW: After more than two decades of investigation and trial, a Lucknow court finally delivered its verdict in a chilling double murder case that dates back to 2000.
The court of judge Rohit Singh on Monday found two accused,
Raja Kolander alias Ram Niranjan and Bachh Raj Kol, guilty of their involvement in the abduction and murder of 22-year-old Manoj Kumar Singh and his driver Ravi Srivastava in the Naka area. The court will pronounce the quantum on May 23.
Raja Kolander gained notoriety and shocked the country with allegations of murder, cannibalism, and skull collection. Kolander, obsessed with power, was accused of targeting victims and allegedly consuming their brains, making it one of India’s darkest criminal sagas.
Govt counsel MK Singh said that the court found Raja Kalander and his aide guilty under the IPC’s sections 364 (pertaining to kidnapping or abduction with intent to murder), 396 (dacoity with murder), 201 (disappearance of evidence), 412 (relating to dishonestly receiving property obtained from dacoity), and 404 (misappropriation of property belonging to a deceased person).
All sections are read with section 34 IPC, indicating that the offences were committed with common intention by multiple individuals.
Singh further added that in the case, Raja Kolandar alias Ram Niranjan, Bachh Raj Kol, Adalat Singh Kol, Phoolan Devi, Dilip Gupta, and Daddan Singh were named in the chargesheet on March 21, 2001.
Due to various legal delays, the trial began only in May 2013. During the proceedings, the case of co-accused Adalat Singh and Phoolan Devi was separated in 2001, and Dilip Gupta’s case was also separated due to his absence. Daddan Singh died during the trial in 2017, resulting in the abatement of proceedings against him, Singh added.
“We examined 12 witnesses, including complainant Shiv Shankar Singh, who provided critical details about the last known movements of the victims and the suspicious passengers. The evidence pointed to a premeditated crime involving kidnapping, robbery, and murder,” said the counsel.
To recall, Manoj Kumar Singh, son of complainant Shiv Harsh Singh, left Lucknow for Rewa (Madhya Pradesh) in his car along with his driver Ravi Srivastava. They picked up six passengers, including a woman, from the Charbagh railway station area on January 24, 2000.
The last known location of the vehicle was in Harchandpur (Rae Bareli), where they stopped for tea. Shiv Harsh Singh’s brother, Shiv Shankar Singh, testified that he and his brother spoke to the duo during the stop and noticed that one of the passengers appeared ill. The vehicle and its occupants were never seen again, said the police.
Three days later, when the victims and the vehicle did not return, a missing report was filed at Naka police station. Subsequently, the mutilated bodies of Manoj and Ravi were found in the Shankargarh forest area in Allahabad, and a post-mortem confirmed murder. Shiv Shankar also identified a brown coat, allegedly belonging to Manoj, which was recovered from the residence of the accused, matching a label from a tailor in Rae Bareli.
He testified that accused Raja Kolandar, his wife Phoolan Devi, and others were present in the vehicle and later positively identified them in court. One Amar Nath Singh testified seeing the accused on the day of the incident and said that they confessed during police interrogation.
Who is Raja Kolander?
Raja Kolander, born Ram Niranjan Kol, was a resident of eastern Uttar Pradesh. He hailed from the Kol tribe, a Scheduled Tribe in India, and was known to have an unusual personality that kept him on the fringes of society.
Infamous for his macabre crimes and alleged cannibalism, he was once employed at an ordnance factory in Uttar Pradesh.
He believed himself to be a king who could punish anyone he disliked. His bizarre worldview extended to naming his wife Phoolan Devi and his sons Adalat and Zamanat. Kolander was convicted of multiple murders, including that of journalist Dhirendra Singh.
Police recovered human skulls from his farmhouse, leading to chilling allegations of cannibalism. Psychiatrists described him as psychopathic, though courts declared him mentally fit to stand trial.
1st conviction in 2012
Raja Kolander and his brother-in-law Vakshraj were convicted for the cold-blooded murder of journalist Dhirendra Singh in November 2012. The victim was lured, shot dead, mutilated, and buried. An Allahabad court sentenced both to life imprisonment in what was termed a ‘rarest of the rare’ case, after 14 human skulls were recovered from Kolander’s farmhouse.
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