Lucknow: From being a professor of mathematics, Pooja Pandey went to making hate speeches, burning Gandhi’s effigy and calling herself “Lady Godse”. Now the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha leader is on the run, after allegedly masterminding her ‘lover’s’ murder.
Last week, Abhishek Gupta, a 28-year-old bike showroom owner, was shot dead by two men in Aligarh. His family has accused Pooja Shakun Pandey, 44, and her husband, Ashok Pandey, of masterminding the killing. On Thursday, Aligarh Police arrested Ashok Pandey, but Pooja Shakun can’t be found.
Police have also taken into custody one of the shooters, Mohammad Fazal, who confessed that the killing was a contract hit he carried out with his associate, Asif, after the Pandeys plotted the murder and promised the two men Rs 1 lakh to execute it.
Affair gone wrong?
The victim’s family has claimed that Abhishek had been in a relationship with Pooja, who was pressuring him to make her and her husband Ashok partners in his bike dealership, without investing anything in the business.
According to the Aligarh police, Abhishek had been close to Pooja for at least five years and was often seen with her at events. But their relationship began to sour after the Pandeys started insisting on becoming partners in Abhishek’s business.
Investigators have also found call recordings that hint at a relationship between the two, but they are collecting more evidence. Based on their findings so far, the police have arrested Ashok Pandey.
Speaking to the media, Aligarh SSP Neeraj Kumar Jadaun said that the police identified shooter Mohammad Fazal through CCTV footage and local inquiries. Fazal, who had a country-made pistol on him when he was arrested, admitted to carrying out the murder with Asif. While Ashok Pandey is in custody, police are still searching for Pooja Shakun Pandey and Asif.
On condition of anonymity, another police officer said, ”Many clips on social media show Pooja dancing at Abhishek’s brother’s wedding, which suggest she was close to his family. She has delivered many hate speeches and now she has chosen Muslim shooters for this murder.”
Mathematician to ‘murderer’
In 2019, Pandey and her husband became infamous when they were arrested for setting fire to an effigy of Mahatma Gandhi. According to reports, she showed no regret, instead named herself “Lady Godse”. They were released on bail within a week.
In 2021, Pooja joined the Niranjani Akhara, took on the name ‘Sadhvi Annapurna’, and became a Mahamandaleshwar (spiritual leader). However, sources say that despite announcing her ‘sanyas’, she continued to live with her husband and two children. The couple organised several Hindutva-centric events in Aligarh.
In 2021, a video of her hate speech at the Haridwar Dharma Sansad went viral. In the clip, she says: “If we want to end their (Muslim) population, we (should be) ready to kill. If a hundred of us become soldiers and kill 20 lakh of them, then we will be victorious. We are ready to go to jail for this.”
Later the same year, she was in the headlines for criticising Prime Minister Modi after he announced the repeal of the three farm laws following year-long farmer protests at Delhi’s borders. She even had Modi’s portrait removed from the Hindu Mahasabha office in Aligarh.
But even before all this, in April 2020, a criminal case was filed against her for “promoting enmity” between religious groups after a video went viral where she allegedly made provocative remarks against Tablighi Jamaat members.
As per sources close to her family, Pandey is from Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, where her father was a professor in a Saharanpur college. She studied in Hisar and Saharanpur, before completing her M.Phil in Mathematics from Meerut University. After that, she worked as an assistant professor at a private college in Ghaziabad.
During this time, she met Ashok Pandey, a resident of Mainpuri. The two fell in love and got married despite her family’s initial objections. While teaching in Ghaziabad, Pooja met Kamlesh Tiwari, a member of the Hindu Mahasabha, who encouraged her to join the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha.
In 2016, she quit her job in Ghaziabad and moved to Aligarh with Ashok Pandey. There, she briefly worked at a private college but soon left to focus on social activism. From 2016 onward, she began making headlines with her frequent controversial statements. She also came in contact with Mahamandaleshwar Yati Narasimhananda of Ghaziabad and Mahamandaleshwar Suryacharya of Gujarat.
She has often appeared on TV channels, presenting herself as a strong torchbearer of Sanatan Dharma.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Pooja Pandey’s transformation into hate-spewing Sadhvi at forefront of ‘Hindu Rashtra’ mission