Nafe Singh Murder: The chief of Indian National Lok Dal's Haryana unit, Nafe Singh Rathee, was shot dead, along with a party worker, by unidentified assailants in Bahadurgarh of the state's Jhajjar district on Sunday, INLD leader Abhay Chautala informed. The party has blamed the BJP-led government of Haryana for the incident and said that it will press for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the attack. Police suspect the role of Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his close associate Kala Jathedi in the shooting.
Chautala asserted that the state government under Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar failed to provide necessary security measures, despite the fact that Rathee informed senior police officials of the threats to his life. "The incident that has taken place today (Nafe Singh Rathee's murder), for this the state government is responsible. They are responsible because, six months ago, Nafe Singh told me, the police informed him that his life was in danger and he could be attacked anytime," Chautala was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The senior INLD leader added, "He (Nafe Singh Rathee) wrote to the SP, CM, and DG that they must investigate this and provide him with security... Ex-MLAs also informed the CM, but no security was provided to him." Rathee was rushed to a hospital after the attack but was declared dead on arrival. He had reportedly sustained multiple gunshot wounds. INLD spokesperson Rakesh Sihag said that Rathee died after unidentified assailants opened fire at him while he was travelling in an SUV.
According to the police, the assailants had arrived in a car and opened indicriminate firing on Rathee and his associates. Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said that officials have been instructed to take immediate action in the matter. "I have asked the officials to take immediate action in this matter. STF has also swung into action. The incident is being investigated," Vij said. Prima facie, the motive for the shooting appeared to be a property dispute.
Who Was Nafe Singh Rathee?
- Nafe Singh Rathee was a two-time former MLA. He was elected the representative of Bahadurgarh Assembly constituency in Haryana Assembly twice in a row between 1996 and 2000, once on Samata Dal ticket and later while contesting as an INLD candidate.
- He had also served two terms as the chairman of Bahadurgarh Municipal Council.
- Rathee had also led the Indian-style Wrestling Association of India twice as its president.
- In 2023, he was booked as the main accused in the case pertaining to the suicide of Jagdish Rathee, son of former BJP minister Mange Ram Rathee. Jagdish was allegedly facing harassment from Nafe Singh in a property-related dispute.