Is Raja Bhaiya the sacrifical lamb for the SP's image makeover?

After being repeatedly criticised for letting lawlessness reign in his state, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav seems to be trying to give the Samajwadi Party an image makeover.

In one of the crucial decisions in this regard, Yadav handed over the probe of the sensational murder case of Pratapgarh's Kotwali inspector Anil Kumar to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Also read: How Raja Bhaiya's chemistry with Akhilesh Yadav isn't working

Raja Bhaiya who?

Raghuraj Pratap Singh, better known as Raja Bhaiya, is one of the SP government's most powerful ministers and is considered to be a close associate of party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav. Singh is alleged to have helped the Yadav family prop up the Samajwadi Party government by engineering defections in the past from Mayawati's Bahaujan Samaj Party (BSP).

The five-time Kunda MLA hails from the family that ruled the Beti estate in Pratapgarh. Reportedly, the minister enjoys almost absolute power over the area, and often uses his henchmen to get things done his way.

He is currently facing two CBI inquiries - in connection with the deaths of a police officer RS Pandey and one on the multi-crore food grain scam.

In the past, he has been a minister in the BJP governments led by Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh.

Will this case bring Raja Bhaiya to his knees?

Inspector Anil Kumar Singh was shot dead by a few miscreants in Pratapgarh on 19 November.

According to media reports, Superintendent of Police of Pratapgarh Sunil Saxena portrayed the murder as an accident - after giving in to pressure from Raja Bhaiya.

However, the case was handed over to the CBI only it was only when the widow of the inspector, Aarti, went to the chief minister demanding a CBI investigation. Yadav also recruited Aarti as the sub-inspector in Uttar Pradesh Police.

The CM has also asked for an investigation on one of Raja Bhaiya's close aides - inspector Balram Mishra as well as SP Saxena.

According to media reports, after the case was handed over to the CBI, there is a restlessness among cabinet following this huge decision, on the other hand, some of the ministers have welcomed it.

No stranger to crime

The minister is infamous for his constant run-ins with the law. According to reports, he has over 40 cases against him and has also spent time in prison on charges of terror.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Zia Ul Haq was killed in Kunda, Raghuraj Pratap Singh's constituency, in March 2013. The inspector's widow alleged that Haq was killed by Raja Bhaiya and a complaint was registered against the politician.

Haq's widow also named Pratapgarh district panchayat chairman Gulshan Yadav, Raja Bhaiya's driver Guddu Singh. Hari Om, Rohit Singh and two others as accused in her complaint.

She stated that they had killed Haq at the behest of the minister. Following massive protests, the SP government forced Raja Bhaiya to resign from the post of the minister. However the CBI had later cleared his name and he was sworn in as the minister once again.

In 2002, Raja Bhaiya was arrested after BJP MLA Puran Singh Bundela filed a complaint against accusing him of kidnapping and threatening him. The minister was arrested on the orders of the then chief minister Mayawati.