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New Delhi: He may have denied the charges levelled against him by Jan Suraaj leader Prashant Kishor, but Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary had once himself admitted in his election affidavit that he was an accused in the alleged mass murder of Tarapur that took place in the year 1995. Further, his old election affidavits in possession with Read show that Choudhary had himself admitted before the Election Commission that he was a “7th pass.” Moreover, while he may have been 28 years old in the year 2010, Choudhary turned 56 in the year 2025 according to his affidavits.

Choudhary—who has been in the eye of the storm ever since Jan Suraaj leader Prashant Kishor levelled serious allegations against him of hiding criminal cases lodged against him in his election affidavit and also forging a marksheet for escaping imprisonment in a mass-murder case—has shared allegedly conflicting information in different election affidavits filed by him before the Election Commission over the years, an analysis of his affidavits shows.

Kishor had alleged that Chaudhary had faced a probe as a suspect in the sensational Shilpi Jain-Gautam Singh rape and murder case and had also faked a marksheet for escaping imprisonment in a mass murder case of 1995. While Choudhary had said that it was another Rakesh who was a suspect in the rape-murder case, the Tarapur case was mentioned in the affidavit filed by him before the ECI in the year 2005. However, those associated with him claim that all the charges hurled against him by Prashant Kishor are politically motivated and fabricated.

AGE DISPARITY
Choudhary had fought his first two elections in the year 2000 and 2005 on an RJD ticket from Parbatta constituency under the name “Rakesh Kumar.” In the election affidavit filed by Choudhary in January 2005, Choudhary had mentioned the Tarapur cases in the list of three cases that were lodged against him back then, in which he faced serious allegations that could lead to two or over two years of imprisonment. The affidavit had stated that the case was “disposed” of, without mentioning whether he was convicted or acquitted of the charges.

In his 2010 election affidavit, in possession with Read, Choudhary mentioned his name as “Samrat Choudhary alias Rakesh Kumar.” The affidavit mentions that Choudhary was 28 years old as on October 10, 2010, when the affidavit was filed before the ECI. But in the election affidavit filed before the EC on Thursday, Choudhary has mentioned that he is 56 years of age. So in 15 years, Choudhary grew 28 years older.

PRASHANT KISHOR’S CHARGES
While affidavits filed by him in 2000 and 2005 state that he was “7th pass,” in the election affidavit filed by him for the Bihar MLC elections in the year 2020, Choudhary stated that he was a “Doctor of LITT from California Public University, USA.” It is this information that has led to Kishor levelling serious allegations against Choudhary.

Speaking to journalists on Friday, Kishor alleged that Choudhary didn’t make clear where he completed his Class X examination from.

“He has mentioned that he has completed a PFC course from Kamaraj University but this course is for those who study Tamil. When Samrat Choudhary was asked when he completed Class X, he said that he doesn’t want to say anything about it and one should read his election affidavit. Today, his election affidavit has emerged and even I was trying to find about it. Nowhere does it mention where he completed his Xth from. Even today, he has claimed that he has completed a PFC course from Kamaraj University. This, even as the website of Kamaraj University states that this course is for those who speak Tamil. So, the first thing he hasn’t stated is whether he has cleared Class X or not. And if he has not completed Class X, he should say if he speaks Tamil because the PFC course is only for those who speak Tamil,” Kishor claimed.

Last month, Kishor had launched a tirade against Choudhary alleging that the latter was an accused in the murder of six persons of the Kushwaha community in Tarapur that took place in 1995. Demanding that Choudhary be removed from his post and be arrested, Kishor alleged that Choudhary, who claimed to be a Kushwaha, was accused of murder of six persons from the Kushwaha community in Tarapur and a case had been lodged against him and others (case number 44/1995) back then.

Producing an admit card purportedly submitted by Choudhary’s family in the CJM court, Kishor alleged that the admit card was forged and it was submitted in court to prove that he was a juvenile.

“He had submitted an admit card issued by a school to Samrat Chandra Maurya. It states that his father’s name was Shakuni Choudhary and that his date of birth was May 1, 1981. It states that he had failed the examination in which he had scored 268 marks. This document has been accessed from the Supreme Court and according to this, his year of birth is 1981. On the basis of this, the then CJM court released him from jail, terming him a juvenile. He was released from jail because as per law, a child below the age of 18 years could not be kept in jail,” Kishor alleged.

Kishor alleged that he was calling for Choudhary’s arrest because in his election affidavit that he filed in 2020, he had mentioned that he was 51 years old which means that in 1995, he was 26 years old.

“So, the court had let him off wrongfully on the basis of a forged certificate. He was released from jail despite that he was an accused in that case,” Kishor alleged.

“I am telling all BJP supporters, my brothers, the person who is accused of killing six persons has been made Deputy CM of Bihar. And you (Choudhary) talk about crime and jungle raj? Choudhary should be removed from the post and arrested and if police doesn’t arrest him, we will move court,” Kishor had said.

CBI REPORT OF SHILPI-GAUTAM FORENSIC ANALYSIS
The most sensational allegation that Kishor levelled against Choudhary in September was that he was a suspect in the infamous rape-murder case of Shilpi Jain and Gautam Singh who were found dead and half-nude in a car in a garage behind the office of the Patna SSP on July 3, 1999.

“Old reporters would have heard about the rape of Shilpi Jain and murder of Gautam Singh. All the mothers, daughters and those with clean image staying in Bihar, should remember that when Lalu-ji’s jungle-raj was at its peak, Shilpi was allegedly gang-raped and later killed along with Gautam Singh. There were allegations levelled against Sadhu Yadav (Rabri Devi’s brother) at the time. Hungama ensued and the case went to the CBI. I ask whether today’s Deputy CM, Samrat Chaudhary alias Rakesh Kumar alias Samrat Kumar Maurya, was not named as a suspect in that case? He should tell us that after which we will release the document in the media,” Kishor said.

He alleged that Choudhary was a member of the “Sadhu Yadav gang at the time.”

“He should tell us… Gandhiji has said that if a mistake has happened, then one should apologise. Was your DNA sample taken for testing or not? Were you involved in the case somehow or not? The case was closed to save Sadhu Yadav because of the influence of Lalu Yadav, but the case could not end, each person of Patna remembers that case,” Kishor declared.

Reacting to Kishor’s allegations, Samrat Choudhary claimed that the “Rakesh Kumar” mentioned in the CBI’s report was an “ice-cream seller from Hajipur.”

The report of the CBI’s analysis of the medical opinion on the deaths of Shilpi Jain and Gautam Singh—which was the only report ever released by the agency—had mentioned the names of the persons whose blood samples were collected by the agency for analysis by the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD).

“That in view of the opinion received from CDFD, Hyderabad, during the course of investigation, blood samples of friends of Gautam namely, Sh. Manish, Rakesh, Pankaj, S.P. Singh, Ashok Yadav were obtained and sent to CDFD for comparison but the blood sample did not match with the seminal stains found in the panty of Ms Shilpi,” states the report in possession with Read.

The report further notes that MLA Sadhu Yadav, a friend of Gautam, was also contacted a number of times for providing blood samples for comparison and opinion by CDFD, Hyderabad, but Yadav refused to provide his samples, stating that “it has already been published in the newspapers, magazines etc., that attempt may be made to involve him in this case and spoil his political career.”

“He denied his involvement in the murder. However, he refused to provide the blood samples for comparison purpose,” the report noted.

Read made calls and sent messages to Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, seeking a reaction on Prashant Kishor’s allegations but they remained unanswered until the newspaper went to print.