How Durga Shankar Mishra’s name disappeared from FIR after the complaint was submitted to the Police Commissioner Lucknow? (Source: Rahul Singh’s family)
New Delhi: A week ago, the suspicious death of UP’s talented drone innovator Rahul Singh sent shockwaves across the state. Now, his family members have made fresh revelations in the case.
Rahul Singh, a resident of Maharajganj district in Uttar Pradesh, was pursuing research at the Design Innovation and Incubation Centre of Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology, Gorakhpur. Around six years ago, he gained national recognition after developing a battery-operated tractor that ran without diesel or petrol. The pollution-free tractor could plough nearly one acre of farmland in three hours and had a maximum speed of 70 kilometres per hour. He had also developed small drones. Rahul secured the first position at the India International Science Festival (IISF) for three consecutive years starting at the age of just 13. His other major innovations included a roti maker and an environment-friendly battery-operated bicycle.
A photograph taken at the Delhi residence of Ex-UP Chief Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra (2nd from left). The image also shows late Rahul Singh (2nd from right), Chandrabhushan Mishra (far left) and his children. (Source: Rahul Singh’s family)
Rahul’s body was found under suspicious circumstances at a prominent hotel in Lucknow on July 14. The following day, July 15, at around 2:30 PM, Rahul’s brother Rohit Singh reached the Vibhuti Khand Police Station in Lucknow and submitted a two-page written complaint seeking registration of an FIR. The complaint was entered in the police station register at serial number 3. According to the family members, the complaint clearly mentioned the name of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra as an accused, along with his address in New Friends Colony, Delhi.
The family further claims that a copy of the same complaint, mentioning Durga Shanker Mishra’s name, was also sent via WhatsApp to Lucknow Police Commissioner Amarendra Singh Sengar on his mobile number 800404XXXX at around 3:15 PM on July 15. The accompanying text message stated: "A written complaint has been submitted by the family members of deceased Rahul Singh, the child scientist and Drone Man of India, against conspirator retired IAS Durga Shanker Mishra, former Chief Secretary of the Government of Uttar Pradesh, and his business partner Chandrabhushan Mishra before the Station House Officer of Vibhuti Khand Police Station for registration of a case."
A bright innovator since childhood, Rahul Singh presents one of his inventions to Union Minister Rajnath Singh and Goa CM Pramod Sawant. (Source: Rahul Singh’s family)
Rahul Singh’s elder brother Rohit Singh told Dynamite News: "Despite submitting the complaint to the Station House Officer and CP on the afternoon of July 15, our FIR was registered two days later on July 17. The police were initially not ready to register the FIR. After persistent efforts, the FIR was eventually registered. But we were shocked to see that the name of accused Durga Shanker Mishra was missing from the FIR. Not only this, the complaint was changed and the FIR stated that Rahul had died by suicide."
On July 16, the family members performed Rahul’s last rites at their ancestral place in Maharajganj district. After the cremation, at around 7:30 PM, Kothibhar Police Station SHO Akhilesh Verma and the SDM reached the residence. The SHO told Rahul’s brother Rohit that he needed to come to the police station as some documents related to the body had to be signed. Rohit then reached the police station in a police vehicle.
Rahul Singh demonstrates his innovative fan model to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. (Source: Rahul Singh’s family)
At the police station, he was informed that a sub-inspector and a constable had arrived from Lucknow. They asked Rohit to sign some documents. Rohit signed the documents without reading them, as instructed by them.
The family members now suspect that police personnel may have taken advantage of Rohit’s disturbed mental condition after losing his brother and obtained his signatures on the altered complaint through deception.
Rahul Singh as a young participant at the India International Science Festival 2019. (Source: Rahul Singh’s family)
When the post-mortem had already been completed on July 15 and the deceased’s brother had personally submitted the complaint at the police station and sent it to the Police Commissioner, what were those documents related to the body for which signatures were so urgently required that police personnel travelled from Lucknow and reached the deceased’s residence, nearly 380 kilometres away?
Lucknow Police had recovered Rahul’s body from the hotel room at around 1:30 PM on July 14. The family alleges that instead of sending the body for post-mortem, police personnel continuously pressured them, saying, "Take the body home, nothing will happen in this case." Despite this, the family remained firm on their demand that the post-mortem should be conducted by a panel of doctors along with videography. Eventually, the police conducted the post-mortem a day later. During this period, the family sent a written message to Lucknow Police Commissioner Amarendra Singh Sengar on his mobile phone stating: "The child scientist and Drone Man of India has been murdered as part of a planned conspiracy."
The alleged alteration of the complaint despite the Police Commissioner being aware of its contents, the disappearance of accused Durga Shanker Mishra’s name from the FIR, and the mention of suicide instead of suspicious death in the FIR raise serious questions. Why was such a major change made between the original complaint and the FIR, and under what circumstances? Was this an attempt to protect an influential person?
Meanwhile, Durga Shanker Mishra, who has come under scrutiny following these allegations, has been appointed as a member of the High-Level Committee on Demographic Change constituted by the Government of India in May after his retirement.
Durga Shanker Mishra served as the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh for two and a half years. Besides this, he served continuously for seven and a half years as Additional Secretary and Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.
In this regard, Dynamite News also attempted to contact Lucknow Police Commissioner Amarendra Singh Sengar to seek his response, but his version could not be obtained.
Dynamite News also contacted former Chief Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra to seek his response regarding the allegations made by the family members. However, no response was received from his side.
Dynamite News will publish his version with due prominence as soon as it is received.
