Uttar Pradesh police on Thursday raided Congress rebel leader Akhilesh Singh's house in his native of Rae Bareli, about 83 kms from Lucknow on Thursday.

"The raid was carried out by the Criminal Investigation Department in connection with his alleged involvement in an old murder case," a senior police official said. "He could, however, not be arrested and is said to be away in Delhi."

While the state administration sought to project the raid as an example of Maywati's impartiality in dealing with 'criminals', sources in the government termed the whole show as 'stage-managed'.

Akhilesh Singh, who spearheaded the revolt in the Congress party, was crucial to Mayawati. "It was his addition to the band of seven other Congress rebels that completed the count of eight, required for a formal split in the earlier 24-member Congress party," a senior Congressman said.

"But we raised serious objections against his inclusion as he had already been expelled by party president Sonia Gandhi because of his involvement in a murder case, therefore Mayawati was in no position to hound him," he said.

According to the Congress leader, if Mayawati had been serious, she could have nailed Akhilesh in so many other criminal cases that were pending against him. "All this was just a drama since the moment Akhilesh separates from her, the splitting of the Congress would ipso facto become invalid under the anti-defection law," he said.

It is believed that Akhilesh Singh had deliberately been kept out of the two cabinet expansions in which each of the seven other Congress rebels were inducted over the past 48 hours.

Incidentally he is also among those who were against the idea of formally joining Mayawait's Bahujan Samaj Party. Initially insistent on the rebels maintaining their independent identity as Akhil Bhartiya Congress Dal, he eventually, after the others moved over to the BSP, had no choice but to follow course, as re-entry in the Congress was not possible.