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UP ex-MLA, now in BJP, and 3 ‘accomplices’ get life terms in 24-year-old murder case

Abhay Narayan Patel, former SP MLA for Azamgarh, joined BJP earlier this year. BJP 'has no information' on his conviction yet, but says convicts can't remain associated with party.

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Lucknow: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Abhay Narayan Patel was sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court for MPs and MLAs in Azamgarh Wednesday, and also fined Rs 20,000. The sentence came in a murder case that dates back nearly 24 years.

Patel was the Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA for Sagri, a constituency in Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) Azamgarh district, between 2012 and 2017. He joined the BJP earlier this year.

On 22 October 1998, Santraj Singh, a resident of Urdiha village — who allegedly had many criminal cases registered against him, according to the defence counsel — was shot dead. Singh’s brother, Ramnayan, accused Patel and three “accomplices”, all residents of the same village, of killing his brother.

Ramnayan claimed that Patel had been upset over the allotment of a government fair price shop in the village to his brother, which he said Patel had been handling before.

Pronouncing the four accused guilty under sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the special court Wednesday ordered them to be sent to prison.

Patel’s sentencing follows UP minister and BJP leader Rakesh Sachan receiving a one-year jail sentence in a 1991 Arms Act case last month. Sachan was later granted bail.

In February this year, ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Patel had joined the BJP with his supporters after he failed to get a ticket from the SP. He went on to canvass for Bandana Singh, the BJP candidate in Sagri.

UP BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi told ThePrint that as yet the party had no information about Patel’s conviction, but no one convicted by a court could remain associated with the party.

Meanwhile, Patel’s lawyer Jitendra Yadav told ThePrint that the deceased, Santraj Singh, too had been accused in several murder and attempt to murder cases.

“Santraj had been a shooter in a gang that had killed convict Harendra’s father, Lalu Singh Patel, in 1992. Santraj and others of his gang were accused in the murder of Rameshwar Singh, former pradhan of Roshanganj village, in 1984, as well as the murder of a farmer named Rampher Yadav in 1988,” he alleged.

Yadav added: “The court relied on the testimony of Santraj’s brother who had testified against Abhay Narayan Patel during the trial, even though police investigation had ruled out his name”.


Also read: ‘Party bigger than govt, focus on winning seats that we lost’, says UP’s new BJP chief 


Allegations and investigation

Ramnayan’s allegations form part of the court order, a copy of which is with ThePrint. He had claimed that around 7 pm on the evening of 22 October, 1998, as Santraj reached the Siwan area of Pakkhopur village on his two-wheeler, he was intercepted by Patel and three others — identified as Lal Bihari, Lal Bahadur and Harendra Patel.

He further alleged that Patel and Lal Bihari were armed with country-made pistols, while Lal Bahadur and Harendra carried lathis (sticks). The former duo fired twice at Santraj, resulting in his death on the spot, Ramnayan claimed.

According to the court order, a post-mortem examination found that Santraj had been shot in the hip, while another bullet had passed through his chest near the heart.

An FIR was registered in Azamgarh’s Raunapar police station under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the order observed.

After this, the initial investigation was carried out by Raunapar station house officer (SHO) Abdul Rauf Khan. Khan filed a chargesheet on 11 November 1998, naming Lal Bihari Singh, Lal Bahadur Singh, Harendra Patel and Abhay Narayan Singh [Patel] as accused in the murder.

However, the Raunapar circle officer stopped the submission of the chargesheet in court and handed over the investigation to inspector Imam Ali Khan, added the order.

A new chargesheet was then filed, which omitted Patel’s name while retaining the other three. This was submitted in the court of the Azamgarh chief judicial magistrate on 22 January, 1999.

After the case was transferred to the Azamgarh special court, the court framed charges under section 302 (murder) against Lal Bihari, while Lal Bahadur and Harendra were charged under sections 302 and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.

However, Ramnayan — the main prosecution witness — testified that Patel was present at the spot and shot at Santraj too. After this, the court summoned the BJP leader during the trial and he was made one of the accused in the case.

“All four knew each other. Harendra is the nephew of Lal Bihari and Lal Bahadur, and Abhay Nayaran was known to them. At the time of the crime (Santraj’s murder), Abhay Narayan was associated with the Bahujan Samaj Party, and he later became an SP MLA,” said Yadav.

(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)


Also read: Modernisation, or harassment? Why survey on unrecognised madrasas is fuelling row in UP


 

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