Of sex, sleaze, politicians and blood

As the infamous Bhanwari Devi case heads towards closure with the arrests of several people including former Rajasthan minister Mahipal Maderna, the pathetic sexcapades of politicians are again in spotlight. The story of Rajasthan nurse Bhanwari Devi is just one among the many women, some ambitious and others helpless, who lost their lives because of their relationship with clout-wielding politicians.

Bhanwari Devi's fascination with power turned fatal

According to CBI, former Rajasthan minister Mahipal Maderna and Congress MLA Malkhan Singh were part of the conspiracy to abduct and eliminate Bhanwari Devi. While Maderna wanted possession of a sleaze CD featuring him and Bhanwari Devi at any cost, Malkhan Singh wanted to silence Bhanwari for wanting to make public her relations with him. Bhanwari had even threatened Malkhan of revealing that she had mothered his child. Bhanwari was first kidnapped, killed and later her burnt remains were thrown into a canal.

A good singer and dancer, Bhanwari's overtures helped her develop close contacts in Rajasthan's political circles. She first met Malkhan in a party some years back and apparently fell in love with him. The affair went on for about three years and led her to come in contact with Mahipal Maderana. She prospered during this period and became so powerful that she allegedly began to take decisions on transfers of top officials. Things took a turn for the worse when she expressed her desire to marry Malkhan Singh.

With Maderana and Malkhan Singh already under arrest, the CBI now claims another major breakthrough in the case with the recent arrest of Kailash Jakhar, the man who allegedly disposed off Bhanwari Devi's body.

The 'Unlucky' Poetess

The 2003 gory killing of poetess Madhumita Shukla at her Paper Mill colony home in Lucknow reveals the price that some have to pay for love and ambition. Madhumita wanted to become a minister and she had believed that close relations with a state minister would help her achieve her ambitions. She developed intimacy with Amarmani Tripathi who was then minister in the Mayawati led BSP-BJP coalition government. Madhumita was pregnant with Tripathi's child when the minister got her killed.

The Central Bureau of Investigation carried out a probe in which Tripathi and his wife were found guilty of murder and were convicted by a Dehradun lower court. Tripathi is now cooling his heels in jail. For the aggressive poetess who had earned laurels for her writing, the brush with politics and politicians proved a costly affair.

The Sleazy CD Affair

Take the case of Kavita Chaudhary, the 29-year old lecturer at Chaudhary Charan Singh University in Meerut. She was kidnapped from Bulandshahr on October 23, 2006, sedated, strangulated, and her body was thrown into the river and never recovered.

Kavita's fascination with power brought her in close contact with former ministers Babu Lal and Kiran Pal and also with former irrigation minister Mehrajuddin Ahmed with whom she was seen sharing intimate moments in a sleaze CD. On not getting her ambitions satisfied quickly, Kavita threatened a sting operation on her sexual liaison with those in power. The sleaze CD later created a furore in the state and forced Mehrajuddin to resign.

The CBI had arrested five in connection with the murder including a close associate of the victim Ravinder Pradhan who later died under mysterious circumstances in Dasna Jail. Merajuddin, Kiran Pal and Babu Lal figured in the CBI probe, but none of the political bigwigs were arrested.