RAJESH RANJAN alias PAPPU YADAV (SAMAJWADI PARTY)

Updated on: 14 August 1996 12:00 am

Purnea, Bihar
FIR Nos. 177/91, Purnea PS; 380/90, Madhepura PS
Charge: murder (IPC 302 and 120-b)

The bearded, hefty don acquired notoriety in the early 1990s, during the anti-reservation stir. His campaign against the forward castes led to many Rajput and Brahmin families moving out of villages around Madhepura and Saharsa. He was booked under the National Security Act for creating a 'civil war-like' situation. Charges against him include murder and robbery.

In June 1991, during the anti-reservation agitation, three cases of murder were lodged against him. Pappu Yadav's modus operandi is said to follow a pattern: the victim is kidnapped and then murdered. He allegedly pushed a local DSP in front of a moving vehicle and forcibly shaved off a policeman's moustache.Son of an Anand Margi preacher, Pappu Yadav was the protege of Arjun Yadav, a gangster with several murders to his credit.

In 1991, when it became clear that Pappu Yadav was getting out of hand, Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav announced his 'arrest'—even though Pappu was roaming the streets in Patna openly, declaring that the police dared not arrest him. It took a personal 'appeal' from Laloo Yadav before Pappu surrendered. He was 'arrested' and quickly released on bail.