32 minutes agoAuthor: Raksha Singh
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After the murder of Atiq-Ashraf, the UP government has issued a list of 61 mafias and musclemen. Vinod Upadhyay of Gorakhpur is also named in this. Vinod lodged in Fatehgarh Jail has 25 cases registered under serious sections. In no case has there been a conviction yet. Illegal properties have definitely been seized. Vinod wanted to make a name in politics, not in the world of crime. But, his association was such that he became the biggest mafia of Gorakhpur.
Vinod’s story is very filmy. There is audacity in this story. Lesson. Revenge of slap is murder. To know Vinod’s crimes, let’s know Vinod’s life from the beginning. First an anecdote.
The one who slapped in jail was killed
Vicious criminal Jitnarayan Mishra of Bhairahawa, Nepal slapped Vinod. Vinod was accused of killing Jeetnarayan.
The year was 2004…. Jeetnarayan Mishra, a vicious criminal from Bhairahawa, Nepal, was lodged in Gorakhpur jail. He slapped Vinod Upadhyay on some issue. Vinod could not do anything at that time. Got bail after a few days. On the other hand, Jitnarayan was transferred from Gorakhpur to Basti Jail. Jeetnarayan got bail on 7 August 2005. His brother-in-law Gorelal had come to receive him. Sitting on a jeep, he reached Bakhira in Sant Kabir Nagar. As soon as both got down from the car, indiscriminate firing started. There was continuous firing for 70 seconds. When the firing stopped, the dead bodies of Jeetnarayan and Gorelal were lying on the ground.
- After this story, now we know the life of Vinod.
Whoever he wanted, he would have won the university election
Gorakhpur University used to be the main center of Gorakhpur’s politics in the 1970s. Whatever was decided here, he would have become MLA-MP in Gorakhpur. Student leaders like Harishankar Tiwari, Balwant Singh and Virendra Pratap Shahi came into the mainstream of politics. After that it became a trend. There were two categories of boys who went to study at the university. First- I will fulfill my purpose by studying from here. Second- By taking admission here, I will become a leader, mafia or Bahubali. Vinod used to fall in the second category.
Bahubali was special for Harishankar Tiwari Vinod
In the picture is Harishankar Tiwari. Vinod Upadhyay was a special henchman of Bahubali Harishankar Tiwari.
After being associated with the university for about 10 years, Vinod formed a big gang of students. This was the time when there used to be gangs based on caste in Gorakhpur. Harishankar Tiwari was Robinhood of Brahmins and Vinod was his special disciple. Shriprakash Shukla was also among the disciples of Harishankar. On the other hand, Bahubali Virendra Pratap Shahi of Maharajganj district used to be the leader of the Thakurs. Shahi was gunned down by Sriprakash Shukla in Lucknow.
This was the time when Vinod’s name was not registered in the crime world. Seeing the crime happening around him, Vinod got the courage to commit the crime. That’s why the encounter of Sriprakash Shukla happened. After this Vinod became special to Satyavrat. This Satyavrat Rai was once said to give advice to Shriprakash Shukla. When both were together, their name started appearing in crime. In 1999, two cases were registered one after the other in Gorakhnath police station. The first was of threats, the second was related to assaulting a Dalit man.
- Vinod and Satyavrat also had a dispute over money. After this both became enemies.
Hinduist leader was chased and beaten for railway contract
Apart from railways, Vinod’s eye was also on the contract of FCI. Once Vinod had a dispute with Sushil Singh, the leader of Hindu Yuva Vahini, regarding this contract. Vinod and his men picked up Sushil Singh at 2 o’clock in the day. Sushil was beaten and taken from Vijay Square to Ganesh Hotel inside Gorakhpur city. Sushil kept pleading to be released, but the people who beat him kept on beating him. Later a case was registered but no action was taken.
Fought election from BSP, but did not win
Due to the contracts, Vinod went on getting rich with money. decided to enter politics. At that time Vinod was close to BSP general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra. sought a position in the party. BSP made Vinod in-charge of Gorakhpur. In 2007, he was made a candidate from Gorakhpur city assembly seat. But the image was such that it stood at number four in the election. While that year the BSP formed the government in UP with full majority.
By 2007, 7 cases had been registered against Vinod. He had gone to jail many times. In 2007, Lal Bahadur gang opened fire on Vinod Upadhyay gang in Civil Lines area. The people of Vinod gang did not even get time to take out the pistol. Bullets started entering the body by ripping the glass of the vehicles. Even before the firing stopped, Ripunjay Rai of Vinod gang and Satyendra of Deoria had stopped breathing. In this case, a case was registered against 7 people including Ajit Shahi, Sanjay Yadav, Sanjeev Singh. Lal Bahadur was not made an accused.
In 2007 itself, a case of murder was registered against Vinod at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow. In 2008, a case of attempt to murder was registered. On one hand the police was investigating, on the other hand Vinod’s name kept appearing crime after crime. Vinod’s eyes fell on the disputed lands. It was alleged that some got his name done and some in the name of his relatives. To find out what was going on in the other gang, Vinod cleverly got his men entered in each gang.
avenged the murder with another murder
On the other hand, Lal Bahadur Yadav got into politics. Became block chief from Piprauli. Came to Gorakhpur University in May 2014. He had just reached the gate when he was shot. Revenge for murder was completed by murder. Gorakhpur Cantt Police registered a case against 14 people including Vinod Upadhyay. 11 people including Vinod were arrested. 3 are absconding. Vinod came out on bail after some time.
Vinod was booked under attempt to murder, Arms Act, Gangster Act. By 2020, the number of cases filed against Vinod under serious sections reached 25. Released on bail, then absconded. The police declared a reward of 25 thousand. On July 17, 2020, the police arrested Vinod from Vipul Khand of Gomtinagar. Here the land which was encroached by Vinod was freed by the administration.
On July 17, 2020, the police arrested Vinod from Vipul Khand of Gomtinagar.
Not only himself, but also the younger brother is overbearing
Local journalists of Gorakhpur tell that Vinod has five brothers. Of these, three are of Dabang image. Vinod’s younger brother Sanjay Upadhyay once slapped a policeman at Asuran Chowki. With this slap, he came on the target of the policemen. Gradually political parties also started distancing themselves from it.
Presently, Vinod is currently lodged in Fatehgarh Jail. The police have so far confiscated Vinod’s property worth about 2 crores. Lalbabu Yadav of Vinod gang’s property worth Rs 13 lakh including two cars, Arjun Paswan’s 4 vehicles, land and property worth Rs 96 lakh have been seized. Suraj Paswan’s house has been attached. In a way, the economic condition of Vinod gang has deteriorated.