Raju Singh, a BJP MLA from Sahebganj constituency in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district, has been handed a four-year prison term by Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court for his involvement in a fatal celebratory firing incident on New Year’s Eve in 2018.
The court found Singh guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and violations under the Arms Act. However, his wife, Renu Singh, along with two co-accused, Rana Singh and Ramendra Singh, were acquitted in the same case.
Singh’s conviction could have immediate political repercussions as per the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which mandates disqualification of any legislator sentenced to two or more years in prison. Given Singh’s four-year sentence, his Assembly membership is at risk of disqualification, potentially leading to a vacant Sahebganj Assembly seat.
The incident in question occurred during New Year’s celebrations in 2018, where celebratory gunfire allegedly led to the injury and subsequent death of architect Archana Gupta. Singh, a Rajput community member, has a political history spanning various parties and has represented the Sahebganj constituency in the Bihar Legislative Assembly since 2005.
Singh’s journey includes affiliations with the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), and ultimately the BJP, where he served as a minister in the Bihar government. His recent victory in the 2025 Bihar Assembly election under the BJP banner now faces uncertainty due to his legal troubles.
