VP Singh ordered Mulayam Singh Yadav's encounter:  When Vishwanath Pratap Singh became Chief Minister; he launched a campaign to eradicate dacoits in Uttar Pradesh. The then-Chief Minister, VP Singh, was fully aware that Mulayam Singh Yadav not only had active ties to dacoit gangs but was also facing charges of robbery and murder.

When Mulayam Singh Ran Away Delhi from Cycle: Mulayam Singh Yadav, a prominent figure in Uttar Pradesh politics and the founder of the Samajwadi Party, once had to flee his home to save his life from the UP police. Very few people would know this. At that time, Vishwanath Pratap Singh was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. It was VP Singh who had ordered the encounter of Mulayam Singh Yadav. In such a situation, this information was leaked to Mulayam Singh Yadav by the Etawah police. In such a situation, Mulayam Singh Yadav decided to leave Etawah without a minute's delay. He picked up his bicycle and left the road and left through the fields, barns and footpaths. Perhaps this is the reason why when Mulayam Singh Yadav formed his party, he chose the bicycle as his election symbol.

At that time, Mulayam Singh Yadav was only an MLA. However, before that, in 1977, he had served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Ram Naresh Yadav and then Banarasi Das. When Vishwanath Pratap Singh became Chief Minister in those days, he launched a campaign to eradicate dacoits in Uttar Pradesh. The then Chief Minister, VP Singh, was fully aware that Mulayam Singh Yadav not only had active ties to dacoit gangs but was also accused of robbery and murder. Furthermore, VP Singh believed that Mulayam Singh Yadav not only protected numerous dacoits, including Phoolan Devi, but also took a share of their loot.

A list of Mulayam Singh Yadav's crimes appeared in the newspaper!
Shortly after this, an English newspaper published a three-column story on its front page detailing Mulayam Singh Yadav's crimes. It also detailed 32 cases of murder and robbery against him. As soon as the news of Mulayam Singh Yadav's history sheet and the 32 cases of murder and robbery appeared in the media, it caused an uproar. Chaudhary Charan Singh was furious with Mulayam Singh Yadav and denied him a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections. Two other leaders were also known for their outcry over these reports on Mulayam: the current JDU leader KC Tyagi and the then Lok Dal leader Harikesh Pratap Bahadur Singh.

Mulayam fled from Etawah upon hearing the news of the encounter.
This was in 1984, when Mulayam was the General Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Lok Dal. Satyaprakash Malviya was also the General Secretary with him. Mulayam respected Chaudhary Charan Singh so much that he would not sit on a chair in front of him. Whether it was his house on Tughlaq Road or the Lok Dal office on Ferozshah Road. Consider this Mulayam Singh Yadav's reverence or gratitude for saving Chaudhary Charan Singh's life. When Mulayam Singh Yadav learned that the then Chief Minister VP Singh had issued an order for his encounter, he immediately took a bicycle from Etawah and fled from there without wasting any time.

Mulayam Singh Yadav chose a bicycle to escape
Mulayam Singh Yadav wisely avoided using a car, jeep, or motorcycle to flee his home. He was well aware that the police would be searching for him on the roads, so he took his bicycle and quietly traveled to Delhi via village trails. Upon reaching Delhi, Mulayam Singh Yadav fell at the feet of Chaudhary Charan Singh and pleaded, "Please save my life... VP Singh has ordered my encounter." Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh police searched for Mulayam Singh Yadav, searching railway stations, bus stations, and roads. No one imagined that Mulayam Singh Yadav could escape from Etawah to Delhi, traveling through fields and trails from village to village.

This is how Chaudhary Charan Singh saved Mulayam Singh Yadav's life.
Now that Mulayam Singh Yadav was under the protection of Chaudhary Charan Singh, the first thing Chaudhary Charan Singh did was to declare him the leader of his party's Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. As soon as he was declared the leader of the Legislative Assembly, the Uttar Pradesh police, which had been searching for Mulayam Singh Yadav for an encounter, began protecting him. Despite this, Mulayam Singh Yadav did not feel safe in Uttar Pradesh. Out of fear, he continued to live in Chaudhary Charan Singh's house in Delhi.

How did Mulayam Singh Yadav survive the Behmai massacre?
Whenever the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly was in session, Mulayam Singh Yadav would attend the assembly with his security personnel, simply to mark his attendance, and then return directly to Delhi. Coincidentally, on June 28, 1982, Phoolan Devi massacred 22 Kshatriyas in Behmai village. Vishwanath Pratap Singh, who was actively involved in the anti-dacoit campaign, was forced to resign. Only after VP Singh's government fell did Mulayam Singh Yadav regain his composure.  

Photo courtesy: Chaudhary Charan Singh Archive

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