Anand Pal Singh (31 May 1975 – 24 June 2017) was an Indian
gangster
A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...
mainly active in the cities of
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
. He was a
most-wanted gangster with a reward of ₹10
lakh
A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...
on his head. He was accused of multiple murders as well as extortion.
His alleged encounter resulted in protests across Rajasthan. His community, family, and lawyers alleged that he wanted to surrender, but the police either killed him after his surrender or forced an encounter instead of letting him surrender, resulting in protest by demanding
CBI investigation.
Early life
Singh was born in
Sanvrad
Sanvrad is a village in Ladnun tehsil of Nagaur district in Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's ...
in
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
in a
Rajput
Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...
family to father Hukam Singh Chouhan and mother Nirmal Kanwar.
After his marriage he earned a
Bachelor of Education
A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed. or BEd) is an undergraduate academic degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. A Bachelor of Education program typically lasts three to four years and combines both coursework and practical exp ...
(BEd) degree
and started a
cement
A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...
business.
Career
After Anandpal got married in 1992 he wanted to become a government servant and later started his cement agency business and a milk dairy.
Political ambitions
Anandpal's political ambitions began to take shape in 1999–2000 when he fought the election for Panchayat Samiti member of Sanvrad village. He won and later fought the election of Pradhan of
Ladnu Panchayat Samiti. He was defeated by a margin of two votes by Jagnath Burdak, the son of former cabinet minister
Harajiram Burdak.
In November 2000, the election for
Ladnu Panchayat Samiti committees took place. Singh and a senior Congress leader at that time came in direct conflict. A police case was lodged against Singh for disrupting government work when he did not let a contender file nomination papers. Supporters of Singh alleged that this happened under pressure from senior police officers and politicians. He was indicted for threatening, extortion and violence to make the case non-bailable.
Love for guns
Anandpal was fond of
AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...
rifles.
When he was arrested at a farm house near
Jaipur
Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...
in 2012, he was found in possession of an AK-47,
bullet-proof vests and bullets.
He allegedly used an AK-47 to fire on policemen at this encounter.
He was influenced by Anuradha Chaudhary, a mastermind in his gang.
Escape from police custody
In 2012 he was imprisoned, but escaped on 3 September 2015 when he was traveling to
Ajmer
Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...
high security jail from a court hearing. Three masked people fired on the police van in Khokhar village near
Parbatsar
Parbatsar is a town and a municipality in Didwana Kuchaman District in the Indian state of Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It cover ...
, and Singh and two others escaped. This placed him in the top slot on the list of most wanted criminals in Rajasthan. He carried the highest cash reward Rajasthan police had ever offered Rs 10 lakh.
Rajasthan police spent crores of rupees on resources for catching the criminal.
After escaping from police custody, Anandpal was accused of killing a policeman when a police team tried to stop his vehicle in Gudha Bhagwandas.
Allegations
The Rajasthan police stated that Singh and his brothers amassed wealth after entering the world of crime. "Anandpal’s brother Manjeet Singh was in prison in a murder case since 2001. He himself and another brother Vikki had been on the run from the law. There are no known source of income for the family, but Anandpal’s daughter spent nearly Rs. 20 lakh on engineering studies in Dubai," said the statement. The statement further said that Anandpal's other daughter was studying at an expensive school in Pune as was his son. "There are two flats owned by the family in Jaipur’s posh colonies. Each one of them is valued more than Rs 60 lakh. The police confiscated nearly 370 bigha of land," said the statement adding that he owned properties in Kuchaman, Jaipur, Hanumangarh, Sikar and Churu. The family also owns a mine in Makarana, apart from several 'benami' properties.
Lifestyle
Anandpal was considered unique in his status as a criminal in Rajasthan whose aides would often engage in acts of self-sacrifice. In a gang-war in
Bikaner
Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the States and territories of India, state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. It is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division.
Fo ...
Central Jail in July 2014, his close aide Balveer Banuda jumped in front of bullets when Anandpal's enemies tried to shoot him.
Singh had serious charges against him, including murder, robbery and extortion.
Despite having these charges on his head, he had developed
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...
image among people. His Facebook image uploads and his video uploads on YouTube gives evidence of his fearless life.
Black goggles, black hat, moustache, beard, leather jacket and his huge and solid physical appearance resembled a Bollywood style gangster.
Robin Hood style
Anandpal was particularly known for his acts of
wealth redistribution
Redistribution of income and wealth is the transfer of income and wealth (including physical property) from some individuals to others through a social mechanism such as taxation, welfare, public services, land reform, monetary policies, confi ...
, giving to the poor and stealing from the rich.
As a result of this, he got a reputation as a
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...
-type figure and had garnered support among some members of lower-income communities for his actions.
In popular culture
Crime Patrol Dial 100 - Ep 686 - Full Episode - 8 January 2018 (Full story is based on his lifestyle)
A web series from
Zee5
ZEE5 or Z5 is an Indian subscription video on demand and over-the-top streaming service, owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on We ...
called ''Rangbaaz Phirse'' was made in 2019 and released in December 2019 portraying the life of Anandpal. Singh is played by actor
Jimmy Sheirgill
Jimmy Sheirgill (born Jasjit Singh Gill; 3 December 1970), also known as Jimmy Shergill, is an Indian actor and producer who primarily works in Hindi and Punjabi language, Punjabi films.
Sheirgill began his film career with the 1996 thriller ...
as Amarpal Singh.
Interests
He was interested in
novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
s and always carried books. ''Super Brain'' and ''
Life of Pi
''Life of Pi'' is a Canadian philosophical novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist is Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, who explores issues of spirituality and metaphysics from an early age. After a ...
'' were said to be found by the police after his encounter in his
Mahindra Scorpio
The Mahindra Scorpio is a mid-size SUV (in the Indian market) and Compact SUV (in the Global market) manufactured by the Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra since 2002. It was Mahindra's first model to be built for the global market.
The Scor ...
.
Before death
In May 2017, Anandpal attempted to surrender.
His advocates met
Governor of Rajasthan
The governor of Rajasthan is the nominal head of the Indian state of Rajasthan. The governor's powers are mostly ceremonial and the executive powers of the governor are exercised by the chief minister, who is the head of the executive of the st ...
,
Kalyan Singh
Kalyan Singh (5 January 1932 – 21 August 2021) was an Indian politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He served twice as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and as a Member of Parliament. He was the Chief minister of Utta ...
, in
Jaipur
Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...
who told them that he is a patriot and that if he will be given security he wanted to surrender. A fair investigation was demanded on his behalf to the Chief Justice of High Court. In the court, it was said that the injustice of leaders had led him to this situation
and now all these leaders wanted him dead.
Anandpal's lawyer A.P. Singh also wrote to the Chief Justice, stating that the court should conduct a fair investigation under the direction of a judge because Anandpal had not committed any crime. He added that Anandpal ran away because his companion Balveer Banuda was killed inside the jail by his enemy Raju Theth. If he had not escaped then he too would have been killed as he was not safe inside the jail. His lawyer alleged that if any lawyer in Rajasthan wants to represent Anandpal, the police overwhelm him in false cases.
Death
Official story
As per police and government officials, he was shot dead at midnight in a raid by the
Special Operations Group Anti-Terrorist Squad (India) of the
Rajasthan Police
The Rajasthan Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Rajasthan, Rajasthan, India and is headquartered in Jaipur, the state capital.
History
The history of Indian Police Service, Indian police under British Raj, British rule ...
at
Malasar
Malasar () (हिंदी: मालासर) is a large village located in Bikaner, Bikaner District which is in the north-west of the state of Rajasthan, India. The village serves as the Panchayat headquarters for three nearby villages. Th ...
in
Churu district
Churu is a district of the northern Indian state of Rajasthan.
Churu lies in the Sekhawati region of northern Rajasthan and shares boundaries with the Hanumangarh District to the north, the Haryana state to the east, the Jhunjhunu and Sikar ...
on 24 June 2017.
Public story
His family and many others reject the official story and blame the police for his death.
Anandpal's sister, family and lawyers also said that Anandpal wanted to surrender, but government mainly the former chief minister of Rajasthan
Vasundhara Raje
Vasundhara Raje Scindia (born 8 March 1953) is an Indian politician, who has held two terms as the chief minister of Rajasthan. She was previously a minister in the Union Cabinet of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and was India's first Minister of Small ...
and former home minister
Gulab Chand Kataria
Gulab Chand Jain Kataria (born 13 October 1944) is an Indian politician who is serving as the Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh since 31 July 2024. He was the 31st Governor of Assam from 22 February 2023 to 29 July 2024. He wa ...
wanted him dead. They asked for protection from the government, court and police.
References
External links
Anandpal Singhcollected news and commentary at ''
Times of India
''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
''
Anandpal Singhcollected news and commentary at ''
NDTV
New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. It was founded in 1984 by economist Prannoy Roy and journalist Radhika Roy.
NDTV began as a production house for news segments, ...
''
Anandpal Singhcollected news and commentary at ''
NEWS18 India
News18 India is an Indian Hindi-language television channel owned by the Network18 Group. It was launched in 2005 as Channel 7 by Jagran Prakashan and acquired in 2006 by Network18 Group and rebranded IBN7. In 2016 it took its current name. ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Anandpal
1975 births
2017 deaths
Crime in Rajasthan
Indian extortionists
Indian gangsters killed in encounters
Indian murderers
People from Nagaur district