
New Delhi: Winning 10 of the 11 mayoral posts up for grabs, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday registered a sweep in the Uttarakhand local body polls. But its impressive showing was overshadowed by visuals of BJP’s Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion opening fire outside the residence of Umesh Kumar, the Independent MLA from Khanpur, in Roorkee.
Singh, who represented Khanpur in the Assembly from 2012 till 2022 and Laksar from 2002 till 2012, is not new to controversies—from allegations of hunting crocodiles to getting recorded sipping liquor while dancing with a pistol between his teeth and three others in hand, and referring to India’s first Prime Minister as “characterless”.
A video of the incident from Sunday shows Singh storming the camp office cum residence of MLA Umesh Kumar along with at least two dozen supporters. He can be seen walking around the premises with an assault rifle in one hand and a pistol in the other. Singh was arrested from the spot on a complaint by Kumar’s personal secretary Zubair Azam who alleged that the former MLA and his supporters fired hundreds of rounds, and that some 70 empty cartridges were recovered from the spot in the aftermath of the violent clash.
Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police Parmendra Dobhal told ThePrint that cross FIRs have been lodged by both parties and the police are verifying whether weapons seen in the video are licensed or not. Reacting to the incident, Uttarakhand BJP chief Mahendra Bhatt said, “The party has taken strong exception to the incident and nobody has the right to mock the state’s law and order. The police are taking necessary action against him.”
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But the arrest—though prompt—caused further embarrassment to the BJP after Singh was seen sharing a laugh with the police and instructing men in uniform to send his car home.
The issue has come to light barely 48 hours before PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the state for the opening of the 38th National Games.
Who is Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion
Born in 1966 into the erstwhile Gurjar royal family of Landhaura, Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion appeared for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) entrance but could not clear it. Between 1989 and 1994, he earned a name for himself as an arm wrestler.
He was first elected to the Assembly from Laksar in 2002 as an Independent. He retained the seat in 2007 on a Congress ticket. In 2012, the party fielded him from Khanpur and he won. Singh was part of a group of MLAs who rebelled against the Harish Rawat-led Congress government in 2016. He joined the BJP and won Khanpur on a BJP ticket in 2017.
In 2002, Singh was hopeful of a ministerial berth in the Congress government of N.D. Tiwari but his expectations did not materialise. He courted controversy in 2003 when the forest department lodged a case against him accusing him of hunting crocodiles in Laksar. And in 2009, Singh was booked in connection with an aerial firing incident in Mangalore.
He was given Cabinet rank and made chairman of the Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation (UAFDC) when the Congress came to power in the state in 2012.
The next year, he triggered another controversy after he allegedly opened fire in the air during a dinner hosted by then minister Harak Singh Rawat, injuring two people including a Congress functionary. That same year, the Congress issued Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion a showcause notice over his public outburst against the then CM Vijay Bahuguna and a ministerial colleague from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Singh invited widespread criticism for calling Jawaharlal Nehru “characterless” and suggesting that M.K. Gandhi was ‘not competent enough’ to be called the father of the nation.
His public spat with Jhabreda MLA Deshraj Karnawal, whom he challenged to a wrestling bout, along with the allegation that he abused a reporter at Uttarakhand Bhawan in Delhi invited Singh a three-month suspension from the BJP in June 2019. His suspension was later extended after a video surfaced of him sipping alcohol and dancing with a pistol held between his teeth and three others in hand. Singh was suspended for six years on the grounds of indiscipline, but the suspension was revoked a year later.
In the 2022 assembly polls, the BJP fielded Singh’s wife from the Khanpur seat but she finished third with 27 percent of the total votes polled.
A senior state BJP leader said on condition of anonymity that owing to his lineage Singh is still under the impression that he is a royal. “All parties are keen to offer him a seat, whether it’s the Congress or the BJP.” The leader added that Singh and Kumar have been “fighting like cat and mouse” since the BJP in 2022 fielded Singh’s wife from Khanpur seat.
“He [Singh] is fond of guns and has many. He loves good perfumes and good liquor,” said a second state BJP leader, adding that the feud between Singh and Kumar is a “fight for turf” and to take credit for any developmental work done in the constituency.
What led to latest flare-up
Singh is believed to have kicked off the latest flare-up with a cryptic Facebook post last week in which he refers to Kumar and his parents. Kumar responded Saturday by hurling expletives at Singh in a Facebook live during which he dared the latter to show up at his residence. The next day, Kumar as a display of strength even went to Singh’s office.
Following the violent clash between their supporters outside Kumar’s residence Sunday, Singh claimed his action was a response to the insult meted out to him and his family by the Khanpur MLA. For Kumar, too, this is hardly his first controversy.
Former editor-in-chief of the Hindi news channel Samachar Plus, he shot to the limelight after he conducted a sting operation which is believed to have led in some measure to the fall of the Harish Rawat-led Congress government and imposition of President’s Rule in Uttarakhand in 2016. Kumar was once arrested for allegedly raping a woman on the pretext of marriage—a charge he denies.
And in October 2018, he was arrested for allegedly pressuring his subordinates to carry out sting operations involving senior politicians and civil servants from Uttarakhand, with the alleged intention of blackmail and extortion. An Uttarakhand BJP leader told ThePrint, “He [Umesh Kumar] carried out sting operations against several ministers and even a few chief ministers and amassed a fortune. When [Ramesh Pokhriyal] Nishank was CM, he ordered that Kumar be arrested if he entered Uttarakhand. The two later resolved their differences, but a similar tussle took place when Trivendra Rawat was chief minister. He [Kumar] was planning a sting operation, but Rawat was tipped off and ordered Kumar’s arrest.”
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