A criminal and gangster Sanjeev Maheshwari Jeeva was an aide of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari who was gunned down a few months back. Gangster-turned-politician ’s close aide Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Jeeva was shot dead inside SC/ST Court in Lucknow. A policeman and a six-year-old girl also suffered injuries in the attack. The attacker came in the attire of an advocate and when Jeeva was about to leave the court, he extensively opened fire. The modus operandi was similar to Mukhtar Ansari’s murder. Ansari and his brother were killed by the guys who pretended to be journalists.
According to eyewitnesses, as soon as Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Jeeva in police custody reached the court premises, the assailant presents there started firing targeting him. This created a stampede there. People started running and during the rush Jeeva fell on the ground in the court. During this, the advocates present there caught the attacker Vijay Yadav, then thrashed him ferociously, then when asked the reason for the murder, he only said that he had come to kill Jeeva, killing him.
Sanjeev Maheshwari Jeeva was a compounder who was fairly doing well, but the circumstances dragged him into crime and he became a member of the underworld. He was a close associate of Munna Bajrangi who was shot dead in 2018 in Baghpat jail. Munna Bajrangi was a carpet weaver. After a few independent killings, the first at the age of 17, he committed the first murder. he joined a gang in Uttar Pradesh led by Gajraj Singh. In an atmosphere where the moves of criminals becoming politicians was pioneered by gangsters like Raja Bhaiyya, DP Yadav and others, Bajrangi started his criminal career as a member of criminal-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s gang. In the early 1990s, under the governance of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, criminals were flourishing in UP. In 1996, Mukhtar was elected from Mau, and the gang, with its arsenal of AK 47and other weapons, became a household name in the districts of Bhadohi Mau, Ghazipur, Varanasi and Jaunpur. The gangs made a living by gathering government contracts with political help.
Earlier this week, a court in Varanasi awarded life sentence to gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari for the murder of a Congress leader’s brother, Awadhesh Rai, more than 30 years ago. Awadhesh Rai, the brother of Congress leader Ajay Rai, was shot dead on August 3. After Munna Bajrangi’s murder inside Baghpat Jail in 2018, Jeeva had claimed threat to his life. His involvement had come into light in the murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai.
Rai, who was an MLA from Mohammadabad seat in Ghazipur district, was sprayed with bullets along with six others by a group of assailants armed with AK-47 assault rifles in 2005. Mukhtar Ansari and his brother Afzal Ansari were named as conspirators. Sanjeev Maheshwari, was a significant danger in western UP. After the assassination of Munna Bajrangi, he allegedly aspired to rise to the position of a powerful don. He was a person of great terror even while imprisoned and serving his sentence.
While locked up, Bajrangi and Jeeva were keeping their eyes set on homes in western Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. His meddling infuriated Sushil Mooch, and as a result, a clash of gangs broke out between Mooch and Jeeva. Mutual hostility in Haridwar over the valuable property close to the transport station grew to the point where several people were killed. In addition, Jeeva had a significant setback in 2018 with the death of the notorious Munna Bajrangi inside Baghpat Jail. He was reportedly given a life sentence for the murder of the former minister Dwivedi.
The government seized about 8 bighas (or about 5 acres) of land that belonged to the notorious Sanjeev Jeeva and his wife Payal Maheshwari. The land at Thana Adarsh Mandi and Sadar Kotwali was divided into two pieces. The land was estimated to have cost roughly Rs. 1.86 crore, Amarujala reported. The wheat crop on the farm was sold for Rs 9,000 at auction, and the money was put in the government’s account. Sanjeev Jeeva, his wife, and their children were listed as the owners of 21 bighas of land in the hamlet of Adampur. In the names of his wife and sons, he had purchased this estate.
