He is the husband of the mayor of Jaipur and among the many 37 accused in an FIR filed in reference to the Karauli communal violence of April 2, But former Karauli Municipal Council chairperson Rajaram Gurjar and his spouse Somya, each of whom are BJP leaders, are not any strangers to controversies.
The police stated the alleged position of Rajaram, who’s absconding at current, was being investigated however declined to remark extra on the matter. The FIR has been filed for, amongst different issues, tried homicide, rioting, legal conspiracy, selling enmity between teams, and outraging spiritual emotions.
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Last 12 months, Rajaram’s title cropped up in reference to alleged kickbacks associated to the clearing payments by Jaipur Municipal Corporation (Greater) that’s headed by Somya. In June 2021, an individual believed to be Rajaram was filmed in a video asking for a Rs 20-crore fee from a consultant of rubbish assortment firm BVG to clear the agency’s excellent payments value Rs 276 crore. In the video, which went viral, RSS kshetriya pracharak (regional official) Nimbaram was additionally purportedly seen. In a corruption case filed later, Nimbaram was named as an accused.
Sources stated such political connections had propelled the rise of Rajaram’s household in politics. They identified that regardless of being on the lam, he continues to stay within the BJP. The saffron social gathering chief’s clout is clear as not solely his spouse, however his 76-year-old mom Rampati can be a public consultant. She was elected the pradhan of Karauli’s Masalpur panchayat samiti late final 12 months after successful on a BJP ticket.
Police on the spot the place communal violence came about in Rajasthan’s Karauli. (Express Photo)
After the “bribery” video got here to mild, the Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested Rajaram and BVG consultant Omkar Sapre. At the time, the company stated in a press release, “Following the information of a video of a bribe sought by a close relative of an important public servant, and the service provider offering a bribe, the Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau lodged an FIR and an investigation was conducted by the Special Investigation Unit.”
Earlier that June, Somya, who was a number of months into her tenure, was suspended because the mayor of JMC Greater after three councillors allegedly assaulted the civic physique’s commissioner Yagya Mitra Singhdeo in her presence. At the time, Singhdeo and the mayor have been concerned in a dispute over different preparations for rubbish assortment as BVG was on strike. Somya remained suspended for nearly seven months and took cost on February 2 after the Supreme Court stayed her suspension order.
Like his spouse, Rajaram too was suspended from the Karauli civic physique in late 2019 after he allegedly assaulted well being official Mukesh Kumar for refusing to signal the wage payments of 340 sweepers as a substitute of the 190 beneath contract. Rajaram was arrested on March 1 after the High Court put aside his anticipatory bail.
While the couple didn’t reply to calls and textual content messages, Rajaram was reported to have instructed journalists in Karauli that he was being focused out of “political malice” and claimed that on the day of the violence he was serving to transport the injured to hospitals.
“Other than these well-known cases, there are some cases of land fraud against him as well,” stated Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi. “BJP should answer why, despite Rajaram being named in so many cases, the party continues to reward him, let alone take an action against him.”
In response, BJP MLA and social gathering spokesperson Ramlal Sharma stated that on April 2 Rajaram was “simply participating in the yatra (which allegedly triggered the violence) like hundreds of others”.
“If there is any evidence against him indulging in vandalism, or arson, or provoking people, then the police should act against him,” Sharma stated, earlier than quipping sarcastically, “But if they’re taking motion solely as a result of he’s a BJP employee and took part within the rally, then they need to go forward.”
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
