The Indian National Lok Dal's Haryana President, Nafe Singh Rathee, and a party worker were killed when unidentified assailants sprayed their SUV with bullets in Bahadurgarh near Delhi on Sunday.
The attack, which occurred as the Lok Sabha elections near, drew sharp reactions from opposition parties, alleging a breakdown in law and order in the BJP-ruled state.
Who was Nafe Singh Rathee?
Rathee, son of Umrao Singh, formerly served as an MLA from Bahadurgarh. Aged around 70, he held the position of State President within the Indian National Lok Dal of Haryana. Additionally, he was a prominent Jat leader, having held significant political roles throughout his career.
Political career
In 1996, Rathee secured his first seat in the Haryana Legislative Assembly from Bahadurgarh, winning by a narrow margin of 1.1 per cent while representing the Social Action Party.
In 2000, Rathee once again emerged victorious from the same seat, this time running under the banner of the INLD.
Following consecutive losses in the 2005 and 2009 elections, Rathee shifted allegiance from the INLD to the BJP in 2014 after being denied a ticket by the former. However, facing a similar situation with the BJP, Rathee left the party and ran independently in the 2014 elections.
Returning to the INLD, Rathee contested the Bahadurgarh Assembly Constituency in 2019 but was defeated by the Indian National Congress's Rajinder Singh Joon.
Criminal cases
Last year, Rathee was allegedly booked in an abetment to suicide case after former Haryana minister Mange Ram's son reportedly killed himself.
“Jagdish Rathi, a local BJP leader, committed suicide on Wednesday evening. Six people have been booked under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the IPC on the basis of a complaint lodged by his son Gaurav,” Jhajjar’s Superintendent of Police Waseem Akram had said, according to a report in The Indian Express.
Assets and Education
Rathee's highest educational qualification was a metric pass; his assets declared as of 2019 were Rs 18,67,13,414.
'Not given security cover despite threats to life'
INLD leader Abhay Chautala told news agency PTI that despite threats to Rathee's life, the government failed to provide him with security. Chautala demanded the resignations of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Home Minister Anil Vij.
"The two-time MLA, who serves as our state unit chief, was not given security despite written representations to senior police officers and the state home minister regarding the threats he faced," Chautala stated.
"Rathee had previously informed me that some police personnel had alerted him to potential threats. Subsequently, I personally contacted SP Jhajjar over the phone to highlight this issue. Had adequate security been provided to him, such a situation could have been prevented," Chautala stated.
He also remarked that the breakdown of law and order in Haryana has once again been demonstrated today.
(With PTI inputs)