Who was Nafe Singh Rathee, shot dead by assailants in Jhajjar?

Nafe Singh Rathee was a member of the 9th and 10th Haryana Legislative Assembly from the Bahadurgarh constituency

Nafe Singh Rathee, chief of Haryana Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), was  shot dead by unknown assailants in Haryana's Jhajjar district on Sunday.

A prominent Jat leader hailing from  Haryana's Jhajjar district, Rathe played a pivotal role in Haryana's political landscape. Three private gunmen hired by the deceased legislator also suffered injuries in the attack.

The attackers targeted Rathee's vehicle, resulting in a gunfire, and several security personnel suffered severe injuries in the firing.

The incident took place when Rathee was travelling in an SUV and that is when the assailants, who were in another car, attacked him in Jhajjar's Bahadurgarh town.

The attack, which came weeks before the Lok Sabha elections, drew sharp reactions from opposition parties, which alleged a breakdown in law and order in the BJP-ruled state.

Who was Nafe Singh Rathee? 

• Nafe Rathee bagan his political innings with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) over four decades ago.

• Nafe Singh Rathee was a former MLA from Bahadurgarh and served as INLD chief for two terms. He was also the President of ex-MLA Association of Haryana.

• Serving as an MLA from Bahadurgarh on the INLD ticket from 1996 to 2005, he later became the President of party’s Haryana unit. Additionally, Rathee served two terms as the Chairman of Bahadurgarh Municipal Council.

• He  switched to the BJP in 2014 after INLD denied him ticket from Bahadurgarh. When the BJP too refused him a ticket, he contested independently. In 2018, he returned to INLD.

• Rathee reportedly faced a series of criminal charges including cheating, breach of trust, forgery, and criminal conspiracy, among others.

• Rathee reportedly faced legal issues in January 2023, when he was declared the main accused in the suicide case of Jagdish Rathi, son of former BJP minister Mange Ram Rathi, and booked under Section 306 (abetment to suicide).
• A lookout circular was issued by the Jhajjar district police to prevent him from leaving the country. Jagdish Rathi (55), son of former Minister Mange Ram Rathi, had committed suicide by consuming poison. Jagdish’s family had accused Nafe Singh of trying to harass him in a property-related matter.

•  The deceased politician had reportedly received multiple death threats and had made multiple appeals to the government to provide police protection.