Rai was the youngest of three brothers born to Lalita Rai and Jagannath Rai in the village of Gondaur, Ghazipur district, Uttar Pradesh. With ample farm land around rich and fertile gangetic basin, the primary source of earning and livelihood for the family was agriculture. His mother died when he was a year old and thereafter he was raised by his grandmother. His early schooling was done at the native village. At the age of 13 he moved to Varanasi to join the Central Hindu School and later attended Banaras Hindu University, where he studied medicine. Series of untoward incidents at college led to him dropping out of school and seeking work instead.
Career and politics
Rai began work as a contractor and became a well-known builder in Varanasi. His initial work included government-funded roads and bridges but later he moved towards construction of residential buildings. Some aspirations and his close proximity to Manoj Sinha were initial thrust for him to venture into politics. He promoted Hindu sentiments and the fact that he was a Bhumihar Brahmin by caste, increased his influence. In 2002, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh from the Mohammadabad constituency in Ghazipur. There he was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2017, his wife, Alka Rai won the assembly seat from Mohammadabad.
Murder
Rai was murdered on 29 November 2005, while attending a family wedding in his native village. He had been made aware of a death threat by Special Task Force officers, who warned him of hired killers at the residence of Mukhtar Ansari and Ramshrey Giri a local politician and former gangster. He was coaxed to start a cricket match in Siyari and was persuaded not to use his bullet-proof vehicle or guards. He was ambushed on his way back home by assailants who used AK-47 rifles. Seven people died in total. The killing caused an outrage in the region. Senior BJP leaders such as Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L. K. Advani, Rajnath Singh, Kalyan Singh and Manoj Sinha demanded a CBI inquiry but the government initially rejected their calls for fear of being indicted. First Information Reports were filed against Mukhtar and Afzal Ansari but Bhajani Ram Meena, the police superintendent appointed to investigate, then left the case. He alleged undue pressure and asked for it to be transferred to the CBCID. After six months, the CBCID also surrendered the case, complaining of pressure and recommending transfer of the case to the local police. Finding no remedy, the wife of Krishnananda Rai filed a writ in Allahabad High Court demanding a CBI inquiry into the killing of her husband. The writ petition in Allahabad High Court by Alka Rai provides detail of thirty criminal cases against the ansari brothers. The Court ordered a CBI inquiry in May 2006. Ansari was accused of ordering the killing and was placed in Agra jail in 2010. He remains there as of April 2014 but the trial has yet to take place. Another person alleged to have been involved in the murder - Afroz, also known as Chunnu Pehlwan - was arrested in June 2014 and placed in judicial custody.
