WB Police was planning my encounter, claims Raj Singh

Lucknow: Ballia youth Thakur Raj Singh, 28, who was released by court order after the CBI submitted that he had been wrongly arrested in connection with the high-profile killing of West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari’s personal assistant, made a sensational claim on Thursday that the West Bengal Police was planning to eliminate him in a staged “encounter” had the CBI not stepped in.Singh, who has returned home, told TOI on Thursday that he feared he would never come back alive. Raj Singh claimed that despite repeatedly pleading innocence and providing details of his whereabouts at the time of the incident, he was treated as a “pre-decided accused” from the moment he was detained.He alleged that police officials ignored requests to verify the CCTV footage and witness accounts which, according to his family, established that he had been attending a wedding function and later travelling with relatives to religious places in Uttar Pradesh when the crime took place in Madhyamgram area of the North 24 Parganas district, near Kolkata“They had already branded me a criminal before any investigation.

I kept telling them that I was attending a marriage function and that CCTV footage could verify everything, but nobody listened. They had already prepared a plan for my encounter,” Raj Singh alleged.He said that he was abruptly taken into custody and shifted to West Bengal without proper consideration of his statements or those of his family members. “My mother and relatives continuously requested them to verify the facts.

They kept saying I was innocent, but it all fell on deaf ears,” he said.Raj Singh further alleged that after being taken to West Bengal, he was isolated and denied communication with both his family and counsel. “I could neither properly contact a lawyer nor speak freely with my family. My name was publicly circulated everywhere, and pressure was created as if I was already guilty,” he claimed.He alleged that the atmosphere around his detention made him fear for his life.

“I believed they wanted to eliminate me in an encounter. It was Lord Mahadev’s blessings and my family’s prayers that saved me,” he told TOI.Claiming that intervention by the CBI proved crucial, Raj Singh said, “Had the CBI not stepped in to investigate, I might not have survived. Things were moving in a very dangerous direction.”Raj Singh also maintained that he had informed officers about his political and social background at the time of his detention.

“I told them that I am known publicly that I have contested elections and hold organisational responsibilities, but they had already made up their minds,” he said.For now, however, Raj Singh said he intended to spend time with his family and supporters before deciding his next legal course. “At present I am with my family and people in the village. Whatever happened will be examined carefully and future action will be decided later,” he added.The case had triggered political reactions in both Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal following Raj Singh’s arrest, a few days after the killing of Adhikari’s PA Chandranath Rath. Singh’s return to Ballia drew considerable local attention, with supporters gathering to welcome him home.His mother, Jamvanti Singh, reiterated the family’s claim that her son had no connection with the Kolkata shooting case. She said the family had travelled to Lucknow on April 7 to attend a wedding at an MLC’s house before visiting Kichhauchha Sharif in Ambedkar Nagar and later Ayodhya for darshan at the Ram temple.“While we were returning from Ayodhya, our vehicle was stopped near a roadside dhaba. Everyone in the vehicle, including women and children, was detained overnight. The next morning I was briefly allowed to meet Raj before the Bengal Police took him away by flight,” she alleged.She further claimed that after her son’s arrest she had stopped eating due to shock and anxiety. “I kept telling them that my son is innocent, but nobody listened,” she said.

Family members also claimed that CCTV footage showed Raj Singh at his residence in Ballia on April 4, 5 and 6.Raj Singh is the youngest among three siblings and is unmarried. His elder sister, Deepshikha Singh, practises at the Allahabad high court, while his elder brother Rishwant Singh is a businessman. Their father, Keshav Singh, was a government school teacher who died several years ago.Who is Thakur Raj Singh?Thakur Raj Singh, who describes himself as a social worker on social media, is a resident of Anand Nagar near the police lines area of Ballia city.

On Facebook, he identifies himself as the state general secretary of the All India Kshatriya Mahasabha and has posted photographs with political leaders along with references to “Mission 2026”.Raj Singh had earlier contested the councillor election from Ward No 15 in Ballia and was locally perceived to have political connections.Although the CBI has submitted that he was wrongly arrested in Rath’s murder case, he had been jailed in 2020 for the murder of a disabled egg seller, Ajeet Gupta. He is currently out on bail in this case.