THE self-styled royals of Kunda are facing harsh realities, and experiencing some ironic situations. Here’s one. Udai Pratap Singh, the towering 63-year old ‘‘Maharaja’’ of Kunda, is being detained in Pratapgarh Jail, outside which a huge plaque has been plastered listing the donations his son, Raja Bhaiyya, made when he was Minister — a dish antenna, 13 television sets, a ceiling fan for each barrack and more.Inside the same prison’s high-security ward, Udai Pratap and 45 of his supporters (read fellow accused) are detained. A Doon School alumnus, Udai Pratap has a carefully cultivated image of being a recluse, almost a hermit. But he breaks his silence to The Indian Express. And once he begins to talk, it is the ramble of an incarcerated man who knows his empire lies in shambles.‘‘This will only end when Mayawati goes,’’ he admits, ‘‘and when some other Chief Minister, maybe Mulayam Singh, comes to our rescue. Till then, the police will keep trumping up charges and framing evidence against us.’’Udai Pratap says he has been spending a lot of prison time doing puja and pushing paper — something which he found several other detenues engaged in. ‘‘We have prepared one petition to the Allahabad High Court demanding how so many men from Bhadri have been detained under the Gangster Act,’’ he informs, holding up a sheaf of hand-written papers. ‘‘We are also informing the authorities about the psychological torture they are being put through so that they give statements against Raja Bhaiyya and me.’’Udai Pratap says he is most concerned about the police feretting away valuables from the ‘‘Raj Mahal’’ in Bhadri. ‘‘I am sure they pocketed some jewellery before they called my wife to sign the recovery lists. I am getting reports about how my mobile phones and other electronic goods are all gone.’’Asked what a religious man like him was doing, surrounded by electronic paraphernalia, a microlight airplane, and allegedly a huge cache of arms, Udai Pratap changes his tone. ‘‘These are issues which are sub-judice and under investigation,’’ he fumbles. ‘‘Yes, I did buy the microlight plane and it is there in Bhadri. I even had a pilot’s licence. However, the plane did not suit me, it was too small. I will be buying a bigger plane now.’’
