Blast at former SP MLA Vijay Singh’s Farrukhabad house; 2 sons among 5 injured

The police are awaiting forensic reports to establish the cause of the explosion.

Vijay Singh is serving life imprisonment for the 1997 murder of BJP leader Brahm Dutt Dwivedi.

Five people were injured after a powerful explosion ripped through the basement of a four-storey house owned by former Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Vijay Singh in Farrukhabad Tuesday evening.

Singh, 62, is currently lodged in Varanasi jail after being convicted in a murder case.

The police said the blast was so intense that it damaged the ground-floor roof and caused structural damage elsewhere in the building.

Alarmed by the loud explosion, nearby residents rushed to the scene and helped shift the five injured, who were present on the ground floor at the time, to a hospital for treatment.

All the injured, except one, are reported to be in stable condition.

Among them are Vijay Singh’s two sons, Abhishek Singh alias Sikki and Avinash Singh alias Vikki, both in their 30s.

The other injured are said to be close associates of the brothers.

According to the police, information about the explosion was received around 7.45 pm on Tuesday.

The blast occurred at the residence of Vijay Singh in the Nala Machratha area, within the limits of the Kotwali police station.

Meanwhile, teams from the bomb disposal squad and the Forensic Department rushed to the scene.

They collected samples and remnants from the site to aid in the investigation and determine the cause of the explosion.

Farrukhabad Superintendent of Police Arti Singh said the explosion occurred in the house’s basement, adding that the exact cause of the blast would be determined only after a detailed investigation.

She confirmed that six people were present at the time of the incident, of whom five sustained injuries.

A senior police officer also stated that no definitive conclusion can be drawn at this stage, and they are awaiting the forensic report to establish the cause and nature of the explosion.

Officers said the impact of the explosion was severe, causing extensive damage not only to the basement—where it originated—but also to the house’s railings, doors, and windows.

A police team rushed to the scene and found local residents already pulling the injured out.

The police assisted in evacuating them and ensured they were taken to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Vijay Singh’s wife Damyanti Singh, who was in another room during the incident, was unhurt.

Murder case against Vijay Singh
Former MLA Vijay Singh has been in jail since 2017, after the Allahabad High Court upheld a trial court verdict sentencing him and slain gangster Sanjeev Maheshwari to life imprisonment.

The conviction relates to the 1997 murder of BJP leader Brahm Dutt Dwivedi.

Following the incident, an FIR was registered at the city Kotwali police station against Vijay Singh and three unidentified persons.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which later took over the probe, filed a chargesheet against Vijay Singh and gangster Sanjeev Maheshwari.

Dwivedi, a senior BJP leader, was once considered a strong contender for the Uttar Pradesh chief minister’s post.

His stature rose significantly after he protected BSP supremo Mayawati during the infamous 1995 ‘guesthouse’ incident in Lucknow , when Samajwadi Party workers attacked her.

Following his murder, his wife Prabha Dwivedi was elected as MLA from Farrukhabad in the subsequent bypoll.

She later served as a minister in the Kalyan Singh government.

At present, their son, Major Sunil Dutt Dwivedi, is serving his second term as MLA from Farrukhabad.

In a related development, gangster Sanjeev Maheshwari, 48, was shot dead in June 2023 inside a Lucknow court premises, where he had been brought from jail for a hearing.

The assailant, posing as a lawyer, opened fire in the courtroom.

The firing also left a minor girl and two police head constables injured.

The accused, identified as Vijay Yadav, a man in his 20s, was arrested from the spot.

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