Who Was Haryana INLD Chief Nafe Singh Rathee, Shot Dead in Bahadurgarh?

Bahadurgarh: Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) Haryana chief Nafe Singh Rathee was gunned down by a miscreant in Haryana’s Bahadurgarh in broad daylight, sending a shock wave across the state. The sensational killing of a prominent Jat leader, who belonged to Bahadurgarh, has not only been felt in Haryana, but across the nation passing an unbearable loss to the party. A two-term Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Bahadurgarh between 1996 to 2005, Nafe Singh Rathee also marked his presence in the state politics, by holding various significant positions in the party during his four decades of political career.

Rathee, who also served as the chairman of Bahadurgarh Municipal Council for two terms, took charge as the president of the INLD’s Haryana unit on January 3, 2020.

Nafe Singh Rathee had also joined BJP during his 4 decades long political career

During his 4 decades of political career, Nafe Singh Rathee witnessed several ups and downs and was also linked to a few controversies. He was also booked by the Haryana police in a suicide case for allegedly harassing the victim in a property-related issue.

The prominent INLD leader, Rathee, in 2014 had also switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after his party denied him a ticket from Bahadurgarh, however, he had to contest the elections as an independent candidate as the BJP too refused him a ticket. Later, in 2018, he eventually returned to INLD.

In January 2020, senior INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala appointed Rathee the president of the Haryana unit, following the party’s worst ever performance in the state assembly elections a year before.

In January 2023, Rathee had to face legal issues, when he booked by the police as the main accused in the suicide case of Jagdish Rathi (55), son of former BJP minister Mange Ram Rathi. A lookout circular was issued by the Jhajjar district police to prevent him from leaving the country. Jagdish’s family had accused Nafe Singh of making attempts to harass him in a property-related matter. A purported audio clip of Jagadish had also surfaced, where he allegedly had accused six persons including Nafe Singh Rathee of harassing him.

Not only this, a few days after the case against Nafe Singh Rathee, his son Jitender Rathee was arrested in connection with installation of an electricity meter. However, his family had then slammed the government accusing it of crushing the opposition by attempting to pressurise Rathee. The allegation was, however, dismissed by the then ruling party INLD.

The ace-politician was also the President of the Indian Style Wrestling Association of India.