Socho zara… ek taraf Gorakhpur, santon aur parampara ki dharti. Baba Gorakhnath jinke naam pe pura sheher mashhoor hai. Aur doosri taraf wahi Gorakhpur se ek aisa ladka nikalta hai jo sirf 25 saal ki umar tak UP aur Bihar ka sabse bada mafia ban gaya. Naam tha Shri Prakash Shukla.
Yeh kahani koi Bollywood script nahi, yeh real file hai. Aur main tumhe is file ka har page khol ke dikhane aaya hoon — raw aur unfiltered. Police, neta, aur system sab isse hil gaye the. Aur sabse badi baat, isne ek waqt par UP ke Chief Minister Kalyan Singh ko maarne ki ₹6 crore ki supari li thi.
Gaon ka ladka: akhaade se mafia tak
Shri Prakash ka janm hua 6 October 1973, Gorakhpur ke Mamkhor gaon me. Dashahra ka din tha, isliye ghar me double khushi. Naam rakha gaya Shiv Prakash, lekin duniya ne usse “Shri Prakash” ke naam se jaana.
Papa Indian Air Force officer the, retire hone ke baad A-grade contractor ban gaye. Matlab ghar me paisa, izzat, dono tha. Education ke liye English medium school me bheja, par Shri Prakash ka mann kabhi padhai me laga hi nahi. Jaldi usko local Loknayak Gyan Bharati Vidya Mandir me daal diya gaya.
Ab samjho 90s ka Purvanchal — yahan mafia ka aisa terror tha ki Gorakhpur ko “Second Chicago” kaha jaane laga tha. Isi hawa me Shri Prakash bada hua. Aur jab ghar me pehlwano ka culture ho, toh naturally ladke me bhi akhaade ka shauk jag gaya.
Mehnat aur heavy diet se usne ek strong body bana li. Local akhaadon me naam hone laga. Lekin destiny kuch aur thi — pahalwan nahi, don banna likha tha. Aur woh turn aaya 1993 me.
1993: Behen ki izzat aur pehla murder
1993 me ek incident ne Shri Prakash ki zindagi palat di. Uski behen school se ghar aa rahi thi, tab gaon ka ek ladka Rakesh Tiwari usse chhedkhani karta hai.
Behen ne ghar aake baat batayi. Papa bole, “police complaint karenge.” Par problem yeh thi ki Rakesh local bahubali MLA Virendra Pratap Shahi ka aadmi tha.
Bas yahin par Shri Prakash ka khoon khol gaya. Pahalwani training ka gussa nikal gaya. Usne gaon chhaan maara, Rakesh ko dhoondha, aur usse patak kar tab tak maara jab tak uski jaan nahi nikal gayi. Sirf 20 saal ki umar me pehla murder.
Police uske peeche pad gayi, par system ne usse ek naya rasta diya. Virendra Pratap Shahi ke arch-rival Harishankar Tiwari ne Shri Prakash ko apne camp me le liya. Aur usko police se bachane ke liye chhupane ke liye 4 mahine Bangkok bhej diya.
Bangkok se wapas aake woh aur bhi be-khauf ho gaya. Ab uska target clear tha — Purvanchal ka number one don banna.
Rise of the Don: tender, supari aur lifestyle
Us waqt Gorakhpur North Eastern Railway HQ tha. Yahan se bade-bade tender nikalte the. UP ke bahubali Virendra Shahi ka poora dabdaba tha. Bihar ke MLA Surajbhan Singh ko nuksaan ho raha tha.
Yahin par Harishankar Tiwari ne Surajbhan ko support diya aur Shri Prakash ko unka “dhakad aadmi” bana diya. Ab scene set ho gaya:
- Tender control: Surajbhan ko railway tenders dilwane laga.
- Supari business: Lakho rupaye leke kisi ko bhi maar dena — easy income.
- Lottery & drugs: Cut racket aur illegal trade par control jamaya.
- Small, loyal gang: Sirf 3–4 log — taaki leak na ho.
Aur lifestyle? Full filmi. 5-star hotels, sharaab, call girls, fast cars, gold chains. Doston ko bolta, “Mera phone bill hi 5000 rupaye roz ka hai.”
Andar se jaanta tha ki bade-bade mafia baithe hain. Agar “naam” banana hai, toh unhe khatam karna padega. Aur yahin se shuru hua uske brutal killings ka silsila.
Brutal killings jinhone system ko hila diya
Chalo tumhe teen bade cases bataata hoon:
1) Vivek Srivastava (Lottery King) — 11 Jan 1997
Lucknow ke businessman ko dhamkaya, par Vivek ne gandi gaali de di. Bas, ego hurt. Parking lot me AK-47 nikali aur ~80 bullets chala di.
2) MLA Virendra Pratap Shahi — 31 March 1997
Wahi MLA jiske aadmi ne kabhi behen ko chheda tha. Indira Nagar me school ke paas bheed ke beech AK-47 burst — reports me likha ~105 bullets. Purvanchal samajh gaya: ek naya khiladi aa gaya hai.
3) Bihar Minister Brij Bihari Prasad — 13 June 1998
IGIMS, Patna ke hospital gate par din-dahaade firing. Ek sitting minister ko goli maar ke khatam kar diya. Bihar hil gaya.
Kehte hain Shri Prakash ne ek tantrik ke kehne par 101 murders ka sankalp liya tha, aur ~86 logon ko maar bhi chuka tha. Chahe number exact kuch bhi ho, uska message clear tha — “Main khauf hi meri pehchaan hai.”
₹6 Crore ki Supari: jab CM Kalyan Singh target bane
Sabse bada dhamaka tab hua jab khabar aayi ki Shri Prakash ne UP CM Kalyan Singh ko maarne ki ₹6 crore ki supari li hai.
Socho, ek baahar ka don nahi, balki apne hi state ke CM ko target banane ki himmat. Poora system panic mode me chala gaya.
CM ne turant IPS Ajay Raj Sharma ko bulaya. Aur yahin se bani UP Special Task Force (STF) — pehli baar ek gangster ko khatam karne ke liye dedicated unit. Lead diya gaya IPS Rajesh Pandey ko.
Manhunt: photo ka jugaad aur SIM tracking
Challenge sabse badi thi: Shri Prakash ki ek bhi photo public domain me nahi thi. Usne dhamki di thi — jo bhi uski photo dega, use 24 ghante me khatam kar dega.
STF ne uske bahnoi ke ghar raid kiya. Ek purani, phati photo mili. Us photo ko modify karke ek Suniel Shetty-type morph banaya gaya aur newspapers me chhapa. Tabhi pehli baar logon ko pata chala ki Shri Prakash dikhta kaisa hai.
Doosra clue mila uske SIM cards se. Usne 14 SIM le rakhe the, par ek extortion call me galti se same SIM bar-bar use kiya. Bas, trail pakad liya gaya.
Ghaziabad Encounter: 22 September 1998
22 September 1998. STF ko pata chala ki Shri Prakash apni girlfriend se milne Ghaziabad ja raha hai. Uske calls trace ho rahe the.
Mohan Nagar flyover par STF ne uski gaadi ko ghira. Shri Prakash ko samajh aa gaya — police encounter karegi. Usne surrender karne ke bajaye firing start kar di.
- Uske side se: ~14 rounds.
- STF side se: ~45 bullets.
Thode hi minute me game over. Shri Prakash aur uske do saathi mare gaye. Yeh tha UP STF ka pehla bada encounter — aur is operation par lagbhag ₹1 crore kharch hua.
Shri Prakash mar gaya, lekin uska naam aaj bhi Purvanchal ke crime ki history me khauf ke saath liya jata hai.
Lessons jo aaj bhi relevant hain
- Environment shapes destiny: Gorakhpur ka mafia culture ek pahalwan ko don bana gaya.
- Politics + crime nexus: Tender aur supari politics ka asli “parallel system” hai.
- Glorification trap: Gangster ka lifestyle glamorous lagta hai, par end me sirf maut.
- Policing innovation: STF ka morph-photo aur SIM tracking aaj bhi case study hai.
Mera unfiltered take: Jab system weak hota hai, tab “bahubali governance” aata hai. Aur ballot aur bullet ka farq ghul jata hai.
Final Word
Bhai, yeh story sirf ek gangster ki nahi hai. Yeh system ki failings ka X-ray hai. Tum batao — kya encounter culture ne system ko saaf kiya ya sirf ek kahani khatam ki?
Comments me apna view daalo. Aur MayankUnfiltered ko subscribe karo — yahan sirf no-nonsense truth milega.
FAQs
Q1. Kya 105 bullets fact hai?
Sources vary karte hain, par pattern clear hai — Shri Prakash apni killings ko spectacle banata tha.
Q2. Kya CM supari sach thi?
Narratives aur police files dono isko confirm karte hain. Yehi supari STF ke formation ka trigger bani.
Q3. Encounter kahan hua tha?
Ghaziabad, Mohan Nagar flyover se Awas Vikas Colony ke beech, 22 Sept 1998.
Q4. Shri Prakash ka target list kya thi?
Neta, businessmen, rivals — sab. Usne 101 killings ka vow liya tha.
References / Sources
- “STF establishes evidence of slain don Shri Prakash Shukla’s links with politicians,” India Today
- “Kalyan Singh gets edge in his war against crime as police guns down top don S.P. Shukla,” India Today
- “Protected by politicians and police, Uttar Pradesh gangs build parallel economy,” India Today India Today
- “Gangster killed following tip-off,” Rediff
- “Ex Cop Tells Story Behind Hunt For ‘Most Dreaded’ UP Gangster,” NDTV
- “Prakash Shukla,” Wikipedia (verified background summary) Wikipedia