Lucknow: Shailendra Singh watches proudly as dozens of cows plod on treadmills laid out in neat rows across a field in Lucknow. The former Uttar Pradesh deputy superintendent of police who waged a long and bitter war against gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari—and failed—has traded his badge and gun for bucolic peace. But he is never quite free from the past.
Singh’s dogged pursuit of Ansari, a five-time MLA who reportedly ran a crime syndicate in Ghazipur-Mau-Varanasi region, cost him everything he had worked for all his life. “I would be an IG now if I had dropped the case. I can’t work for a government that acts as a puppet in the hands of the mafia,” says Singh, bitterness seeping into his voice.
But the events that led to his resignation and fall from grace with the Samajwadi Party in 2004 are playing out now—nearly two decades later. Since September 2022, Mukhtar Ansari has been convicted in four out of 61 cases registered against him. On 29 April, a Ghaziabad court sentenced him to 10 years in prison in connection with the kidnapping and murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai in 2005. In a 2009 attempt-to-murder case, he was acquitted on Wednesday, and verdict in another case is expected on Saturday. He remains in jail since 2005 with little prospect of ever coming out.
Ansari is just another entry in the growing list of Uttar Pradesh’s gangsters and mafias seeing the end of their ‘raj’ unfold. Before Ansari, there was Vikas Dubey, Atiq Ahmed and Anil Dujana. CM Adityanath’s vow that he will grind UP’s underworld to dust (“iss mafia ko mitti me mila denge”) has become a rallying cry across the state.
The irony is not lost on Shailendra Singh.
“Maine ghaat ghaat ka paani pi liya and realised that it is of no use. All departments are corrupt,” Singh said, his disappointment with the ‘system’ unmissable. Police officers who worked with him vouch for his integrity.
“The time when Shailendra was a cop, governments were run on the instructions of politicians. And politicians were run by gangsters with a foothold in the region,” a senior police official told The Print.
Bitter cop to organic farmer
Today, Singh has nothing to do with Ansari anymore. Instead, he focuses on his organic farm, his cows, and his invention that will help farmers.
His treadmill contraption can convert the energy generated by a cow or bull walking on it at 150rpm into electricity. He calls it Nandi Rath. In his free time, he rescues abandoned and stray cattle and re-homes them in his gaushala (cow shelter).
“I have seen it all. And that’s why I have chosen to help farmers through my innovation. If the electricity can be produced so easily through stray cattle, farmers will not have to worry. As the poor become powerful, politics will change too,” he said.
From a bitter cop to a failed politician and now an organic farmer and proud inventor, Singh has worn many hats. After he left the force, he attempted to join politics but couldn’t cut it as a neta. He was even accused of vandalism, and it was only after 17 years that the Adityanath government withdrew the case in 2021.
His house in Lucknow is a fortress with CCTV cameras, a massive channel door made of steel, and alert guards. Everyone knows him as the tough cop and head of the Special Task Force (STF) who sought to arrest Ansari under the stringent Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), which was repealed in September 2004.
Singh hails CM Adityanath’s crackdown on gangsters and mafia. “It’s a step towards creating a safer and more just society. I feel that my efforts to combat organised crime were not in vain,” he said.
Remembering the past
In 2004, the rivalry between Ansari, an independent MLA from Mau, and Krishnanand Rai, a BJP MLA from Mohammadabad, was escalating. Unknown individuals opened fire on Ansari’s cavalcade in Lucknow, leading to rumours implicating Rai whose cavalcade was passing by.
“It all started in 2004 when I was chasing Ansari to get hold of a Light Machine Gun (LMG),” Singh explains.
Following the incident, the police received intelligence that Ansari was trying to purchase an LMG. The BSP government alerted the UP STF, led by DGP Rajkumar Vishwakarma.
Singh, then in charge of the Varanasi STF unit, intercepted calls confirming Ansari’s intention to acquire the LMG. “Ansari was desperate. He had instructed his men to purchase the gun with which he wanted to kill Rai,” Singh recalls.
Acting on the intelligence, Singh’s team raided Varanasi’s Chaubepur area on 25 January and seized the LMG and 200 live cartridges.
Ansari faced charges under POTA. Singh claims he was asked senior police officials to “be practical and drop the case”.
Singh chose to resign instead. Within a fortnight, senior officers SSP (STF) Rajkumar Vishwakarma and inspector-general of Varanasi zone, Manoj Kumar Singh and DIG (Varanasi range) were transferred.
“Many times he was offered money to shut the case but he always refused,” said his friend and businessman Saurabh Gupta.
Even after his resignation, Singh’s peers within the police force continue to hold him in high regard.
“He is a man who worked on his mission to serve people. I tried convincing him but he didn’t change his mind,” recalls SP Cyber (Uttar Pradesh) Tirveni Singh.
However, Singh faced difficulties finding accommodation after leaving his government residence. No one wanted to rent to the man who targeted Ansari.
He lived in an under-construction house of a relative, relying on his wife’s teaching income, his mother’s pension, and his brother’s support.
Four years later, Singh was arrested in a vandalism case but released on bail after a month.
Upon his release, he prioritised the safety of his family by installing CCTV cameras and a sturdy door. “My wife and son were scared. I saw the fear in their eyes. That’s when I realised I can’t let it happen again,” Singh points at the CCTV camera.
Singh’s political journey included unsuccessful independent candidacy and stints with Congress (2006) and BJP (2014), which he eventually left.
Congress to BJP to cow protection
Unable to enter politics, Singh bought two cows and started selling milk. He expanded his operations and began sheltering stray cattle after buying land in Sidhupura village of Gosaiganj, 20 km from Lucknow.
He developed the idea of using cattle’s energy to produce electricity, leading to the creation of “Shree Gram Dham.”
Singh trained his cattle to walk on a treadmill connected to a gearbox, converting their movement into usable energy. This generated enough electricity to power his farm and the local community.
The success of Shree Gram Dham spread, and other farmers adopted Singh’s innovative approach, providing clean and renewable energy.
Police officials who have risen the ranks over the last two decades claim that things have changed, and they now have a free hand in apprehending criminals, regardless of their power.
“We find a criminal, we arrest him. We don’t have to wait for an instruction,” said a senior police official who did not want to be named.
If Singh regrets leaving the force, he keeps it to himself.
(Edited by Prashant)