,
This is the reality of Wasseypur today. There was a similar attack on the house of the real Faizal Khan i.e. Faheem (Khan Family) in 2004, but Faheem survived. Currently lodged in Hazaribagh Central Jail. His son Iqbal is handling the real estate business in Wasseypur.
Faizal Khan's enemy Ramadhir Singh was actually the owner of 'Singh Mansion' and former Jharia MLA Suryadev Singh. He died of a heart attack in 1991. Both his sons Rajiv and Sanjeev could not handle the political legacy.
Now two daughters-in-law of Suryadev Singh's family, Purnima and Ragini Singh, are standing against each other in the assembly elections. Purnima is contesting from Congress and Ragini from BJP on Jharia seat. Jharia is a separate seat about 7 km away from Wasseypur.
In the second phase of Jharkhand assembly elections, voting is to be held on 38 seats on November 20. Dhanbad, which is called the 'coal capital' of the country, is also in this phase. Wasseypur is part of Dhanbad assembly seat. BJP currently holds the Dhanbad seat which is dominated by Singh Mansion. BJP has given ticket to sitting MLA Raj Sinha only. His contest is against Ajay Dubey of Congress.
There was a time when the coinage of Bahubali was prevalent in Dhanbad. Coal businessmen started contesting elections after earning immense wealth. There was a lot of bloodshed. Murders started happening openly in the middle of the road.
This same fight for supremacy dominates the assembly elections also. The story of politics in Dhanbad is incomplete without Wasseypur and Jharia. There is crime, politics, coal and the fire of revenge emanating from it. Read the full report.
The story of crime and politics begins from coal mines. This story starts from 1972. Then Indira Gandhi government nationalized the coal mines running on contract in Dhanbad. 711 coal mines across the country came under the control of the government. Of these, 245 mines were in Dhanbad. Coal from Dhanbad was reaching all over India and small coal traders were also gambling in crores.
When money came, crime also increased. Extortion started from coal traders. Then the names of two gangsters came out. First- Shafiq Khan, Second- Asghar Khan. Both had their own gangs. Their work included manipulation, extortion, extortion and bribery in everything from interference in unions to coal auctions. At that time, coal mining in Dhanbad was being discussed across the country, but for all the wrong reasons.
Retired IAS Shriram Dubey, who has written more than 30 books on Dhanbad, says, 'When the coal mines were nationalized, labor unions were also formed. BP Sinha, close to Indira Gandhi, had a strong say in the labor politics of Dhanbad. BP Sinha started playing a big role in making Congress win in Koyalanchal.
'At the same time, wrestler Suryadev Singh, who had come to Dhanbad from Ballia in UP, came in contact with BP Sinha. Both of them opened a front against the extortion and extortion from coal traders. Gangsters Shafiq Khan and Asghar did not like this.
1977 assembly elections, when mafia entered politics BP Sinha was MLC in Dhanbad from 1965 to 1975. After this his place was taken by Suryadev Singh. Suryadev Singh did not waste time to become the Bahubali of Dhanbad. By 1976, he dominated the coal business.
In 1977, Suryadev became MLA from Jharia assembly seat on Janata Party ticket. This seat was then part of undivided Bihar. Suryadev's victory was considered a cocktail of mafia and politics.
On March 29, 1978, BP Sinha was murdered in his house. People who had come on the pretext of asking for help had fired about 100 bullets from a light machine gun on 70 year old BP Sinha.
After this, the coin of Suryadev started circulating in the entire coalfield. After winning the first election, Suryadev also became MLA in 1980 and 1985.
Elections continued in Dhanbad, but the firing did not stop in Wasseypur. The mutual rivalry between gangsters Shafiq Khan and Asghar over extortion from railway scrap and coal traders turned into a gang war. In this fight for supremacy in Wasseypur, both of them called themselves the biggest don of Dhanbad. Shafiq Khan won this battle for kingship.
From 70s to 80s, Wasseypur was controlled by Shafiq Khan. In 1983, Asghar Khan's henchmen gunned him down near Barwada Petrol Pump in Dhanbad. This scene is also shown in Gangs of Wasseypur.
After Shafiq's death, his elder son Shamim Khan was also murdered in Dhanbad court in 1986. From here, gangster Shafiq Khan's son Faheem i.e. Faizal Khan entered the story.
After the murder of his father and elder brother, Faheem Khan started assuming the throne of Wasseypur. Faheem's objective became to eliminate Asghar Khan and his right hand Sabir Alam. From 1990 to 2000, Faheem Khan was accused of several murders. One of them, Faheem, is serving life imprisonment since June 2011 in the murder case of Sagir.
The wall with bullet marks became the identity of Faheem's house. Wasseypur is about 3.5 kilometers away from Dhanbad Railway Station. As soon as people ask about Wasseypur at the railway station, they say – If you want to go there, then go before 8 pm. Going after that is taking a risk.
Wasseypur starts from Kamarmakhdumi Road. Congress flags are installed at many places here. As soon as you go inside the locality, after 10 houses you come across a yellow-grey colored wall. There are bullet marks everywhere on it.
The wall of Faheem Khan's house, which has bullet marks on it. This wall is the identity of Faheem Khan's house.
At Faheem's house we met his son Iqbal. Iqbal says, 'We came to Wasseypur in 1980. Before this my ancestors lived here. Wasseypur was a very good place then. What is going on now is not going well.
Faheem Khan's house built in Wasseypur. His son and the rest of the family live here.
The nephew who committed murder on Faheem's instructions is now an enemy. One character in Faheem Khan's story is his nephew Prince Khan. The Prince was once his right hand. On the instructions of Faheem, Prince committed several murders. There are 50 cases registered against him, out of which 10 are of murder. After going to jail, Faheem handed over his inheritance to his son Iqbal, and the Prince became rebellious.
Iqbal says, 'Prince is hiding in Dubai and is spoiling the children here. He gives marijuana to young boys, makes them intoxicated and gives them weapons and makes them open fire on us. Right now there is a lot of trouble in Wasseypur. Someone is not even able to marry his daughter properly.
Does Prince want to replace Faheem Khan? Iqbal replies, 'Will he take my father's place? My father always got along well with everyone. People together made him the President of Youth Welfare Society. During his time there was a campaign to stop drug addiction and gambling. No poor person had to think about his daughter's marriage. The Prince has ruined everything.
Enmity between Suryadev Singh and Gangs of Wasseypur Narrating the story of the enmity between Suryadev Singh and Gangs of Wasseypur, retired IAS Shriram Dubey says, 'It has been the habit of Wasseypur to play Holi of blood without any season. Once some people from Wasseypur had kidnapped a Bengali girl from Jharia. The girl's family reached Suryadev Singh to seek help. Suryadev Singh went to Wasseypur alone with a gun to rescue the girl.
'Suryadev threatened the people of Wasseypur and said – If the girl does not reach home safely by the evening, then the whole of Wasseypur will suffer the consequences. Suryadev Singh's words had such an impact that they left the girl. This incident further increased the stature of Suryadev Singh in Dhanbad.
'Singh Mansion' is the center point of Dhanbad's politics. Suryadev Singh held the Jharia assembly seat from 1977 to 1990. He built a luxurious bungalow 'Singh Mansion' in the heart of Dhanbad city.
Singh Mansion built in Dhanbad city used to be the center of politics during the time of Suryadev Singh.
Suryadev lived in Singh Mansion with his three brothers Bachha Singh, Ramadhir Singh and Rajnarayan Singh. One brother Vikram Singh lived in Ballia. After the death of Suryadev Singh in 1991, Jharia seat passed away from the family. In 1999, his brother Bachha Singh again won the election from here.
Despite Bacha Singh's victory, there was a split in Suryadev Singh's family. Disputes started among the family members over political ambitions and dominance in business.
The dispute increased so much that Bacha Singh left 'Singh Mansion' and built his own separate house 'Suryoday'. The other brother Rajnarayan Singh also shifted with his family to a bungalow named 'Raghukul'.
Suryadev Singh's brother Rajnarayan Singh had built this bungalow after separating from the Singh Mansion. Named it Raghukul.
Bacha Singh's sympathy was more for brother Rajnarayan Singh's sons Neeraj, Eklavya and Guddu. Suryadev Singh's wife Kunti Singh did not like this thing. Kunti contested the assembly elections from Jharia in 2005 to end the dominance of Bacha Singh. She was MLA here from 2005 to 2014. In 2014, Sanjeev Singh, son of Suryadev Singh and Kunti Singh, became MLA from Jharia on BJP ticket.
'Singh Mansion' and 'Raghukul' face to face to win Jharia From 2004 to 2014, 'Singh Mansion' had absolute rule in the politics of Dhanbad. On the other hand 'Raghukul' remained calm. In 2009, Rajnarayan Singh's son Neeraj Singh entered politics through Municipal Corporation elections. When Neeraj became the Deputy Mayor of Dhanbad, the lost strength of 'Raghukul' came back.
On the other hand, seeing Neeraj Singh moving forward, Kunti Singh made her son Sanjeev Singh contest the elections from Jharia assembly seat in his place in 2014. Neeraj Singh suffered a crushing defeat in this election. Neeraj was shot dead near the Steel Gate of Dhanbad on March 21, 2017, three years after losing the election.
According to media reports, the killers attacked Neeraj's car with AK-47. 60 bullets hit his car and 25 went through his body.
Jharia MLA Sanjeev Singh's name came up in Neeraj's murder case. It was alleged that Sanjeev Singh had conspired to murder. Sanjeev Singh is in jail since April 12, 2017. His wife Ragini Singh is the BJP candidate from Jharia seat. She is contesting against Neeraj Singh's wife and Congress candidate Purnima Singh.
The political legacy of Singh family is in the hands of women. After the murder of Neeraj Singh and jailing of Sanjeev Singh, the political legacy of Jharia seat is in the hands of two women. 'Singh Mansion' is on the side of BJP and 'Raghukul' is on the side of Congress. Both the sisters-in-law and sister-in-law were face to face in the 2019 assembly elections also. Then sister-in-law Purnima had defeated sister-in-law Ragini. This time there seems to be a tough competition between the two.
Ragini Singh, BJP candidate Ragini Singh says, 'There is nothing in the name of development in Jharia Assembly. There are countless examples in the name of crime. No one has been left out in this government. Deadly attacks have been carried out by entering houses. Yadav community was especially targeted. Therefore, this society has understood that if Congress and JMM rule, no one will be safe.
Purnima Singh, Congress Candidate Purnima Singh says, 'My husband late Neeraj Babu was not new to the public. I came into politics to serve the people and get justice for Neeraj Babu. I am doing the same till today. My fight is against those who are using Jharia only to show power and increase their wealth.
Expert said – BJP is in advantage in the fight between sister-in-law and sister-in-law. Dhanbad has been the base of BJP since the beginning. This time the election equations also seem to be going in his favour. After the murder of Mayor Neeraj Singh in 2017, his wife Purnima Singh entered politics. In the 2019 assembly elections, he defeated Sanjeev Singh's wife and sister-in-law Ragini by 12,054 votes.
Arun Varanwal, editor of Dhanbad's news network TV-45, says, 'After the murder of Neeraj Singh, Sanjeev Singh had to go to jail, and the dispute between the two families increased. There was a rift between Singh Mansion and Raghukul. In the last elections, his wife Purnima Singh got the benefit of Neeraj Singh's murder. He won the election by defeating Sanjeev Singh's wife Ragini Singh and gave this seat to Congress.
'This time the equation of Jharia has changed a bit. People are angry with the current MLA Purnima Singh. After winning the elections, she was rarely seen in her area. On the other hand, Ragini Singh continued meeting the people of Jharia despite losing. There is a huge craze among the people about him since 2-3 months before the assembly elections. Due to this, BJP is looking strong here.
Lastly, talking about the people of Dhanbad…
People said – no one can stop crime until coal traders remain. Adalat Yadav, who lives in Central Fuel Research Colony in Jharia, is happy with the work of Congress MLA Purnima Singh. He says, 'We have been living here since 1949. The directors and employees here were demolishing people's huts in the name of action. The huts of more than 100 people were demolished. Purnima Singh intervened and stopped the work. He said in front of the officials that as long as we stay, we will not allow even a single house to be demolished.
Laxman Yadav of the village adjacent to Kusunda Coalfield says, 'The crime of Jharia will never end. There is a fight for coal supremacy here. As long as there are coal traders, it will continue like this. Murder and bloodshed are common here. Here, it is not a fight between parties but between sisters-in-law and sisters-in-law.
'The atmosphere in Jharia right now is 50-50. The biggest issue here is unemployment. Nobody got the job. People have no hope from any government. Saw this government, before that also saw the BJP government, but to no avail.
2. Champai will demolish JMM's fort in Seraikela seat which has 34% tribal voters.
Graphics Source: NavJivanIndia | VaskarAssets | NavBharatTimes
