More than a decade after an on-duty DSP was lynched to death in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, a special CBI court in Lucknow has found 10 people guilty in the case.
The incident had caused a political uproar at the time as the slain cop’s family had blamed then food and civil supplies minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiya for the murder. Singh lost his ministerial post subsequently.
The slain cop, Zia ul Haq, was posted in Pratapgarh's Kunda, under which comes Bhadri, the native village of Singh. Singh is currently a Jansatta Dal MLA.
During Zia ul Haq’s tenure, he had some face-offs with Singh’s supporters. His family later alleged that there had been a number of threats over phone to him.
On the night of March 2, 2013, he arrived at Balipur where the murder of the village headman, Nanhe Singh Yadav, had prompted a number of his supporters to reach the spot with weapons. The reason for the murder was a dispute over ownership of some shops. One Kamta Patel was believed to be the prime suspect and Yadav’s supporters had laid siege to his house.
Sensing the tension, the DSP had taken care to approach the village from an alternative route. As he made his way to Patel’s home, he was surrounded by a mob and lynched to death. He was beaten with sticks and rods and shot thrice.
While the three policemen who had accompanied him ran away, the backup that had been called for did not arrive on time. In the outrage, Nanhe’s brother Suresh was shot dead.
Following this, the cop's wife Parveen Azad had accused Raghuraj Pratap Singh, then a minister in the Samajwadi Party government of having a hand in the killing. Both Patel and Yadav were Singh’s supporters. Singh had then said that the allegation was a natural reaction by a traumatised widow, and that he had tried on multiple occasions to settle the disputes between the two.
While Singh’s name was in the first FIR filed by Azad, the CBI did not find evidence against him. The CBI had also hinted at a possible larger conspiracy behind the case.
Ten people have now been found guilty by a special CBI court. This includes two brothers of the slain Pradhan. The quantum of punishment will be announced this week.