What was the dreadful ‘Ranga-Billa’ incident of 1978? The painful story of Geeta-Sanjay came alive again after 48 years, the story returned as ‘ashes’

1978 Ranga Billa Case: The web series Rakh starring Ali Fazal, Sonali Bendre, Aamir Bashir and Rakesh Bedi has been released on OTT platform on June 12. This series of total 8 episodes has become a topic of much discussion these days and why not, after all this series is inspired by the infamous Ranga-Billa case of 1978, which shook the entire country.

The kidnapping, torture and murder of two innocent brother-sisters, Geeta Chopra and Sanjay Chopra, had raised serious questions on law and order, child safety and policing at that time. Almost 48 years later, Rakh has again brought this case into the limelight and sparked a debate on it across the country. This web series raises the question who were Ranga and Billa, who committed one of the most infamous crimes of the country.

Who were Ranga and Billa?

Ranga’s real name was Kuljeet Singh, and Billa’s real name was Jasbir Singh. Both were from Punjab and were involved in petty crimes. After initially being involved in theft and other criminal activities, they started kidnapping and extortion. Gradually his criminal activities increased and in 1978 he committed a crime which shook the entire country.

Kidnapping of Geeta and Sanjay in 1978

On the evening of August 26, 1978, 16-year-old Geeta Chopra and her 14-year-old brother Sanjay Chopra left home. Geeta had to participate in a Yuvvani program on All India Radio on Parliament Street. The brothers and sisters were about to take the lift when Ranga and Billa took them in their car. After some time, the children came to know that they had been kidnapped.

During the kidnapping, Geeta and Sanjay tried to escape from the criminals but failed. Then the criminals took the children to a deserted area of ​​Delhi. There, they first murdered Sanjay, then raped Geeta and then brutally murdered her. Their bodies were found two days later, which spread anger across the country.

Anger erupted across the country against Ranga and Billa.

This incident shocked people. Protests started across the country. The matter became so serious that the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai also went to meet the victim’s family. The postmortem report revealed that both the children were badly beaten. There were many wounds on Sanjay’s body, while Geeta also had marks of severe beating on her body.

How were the colors and badge captured?

After the incident, both the accused fled from Delhi, first to Mumbai and then to Agra. While returning to Delhi, he mistakenly boarded the Kalka Mail train, which was a reserve compartment for army personnel. The soldiers present there became suspicious. When they were asked for their identity cards, they became nervous. On reaching Delhi, the soldiers handed him over to the police. After hearing the case, the court convicted him and sentenced him to death. The High Court and the Supreme Court also upheld the sentence. Later, his mercy petition before the President was also rejected.

After being sentenced to death, Ranga and Billa were kept in Tihar jail. It is said that the last formalities were completed on the day of hanging. According to jail officials, Ranga was calm, while Billa was nervous. Both of them were hanged on time on 31 January 1982, after which both these criminals met a dreadful end and the innocent people got justice.

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