Lucknow/New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) A special CBI court on Wednesday sentenced 10 people to life imprisonment for killing Uttar Pradesh Police deputy SP Zia Ul Haq in 2013, officials said.
The court of special judge Dhirendra Kumar in Lucknow on October 4 convicted the 10 accused in the case in which the alleged role of Kunda MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya was also examined.
On Wednesday, the court also slapped a fine totalling Rs 1.95 lakh on the convicts.
The incident took place on March 2, 2013, when Haq, who was the circle officer of Kunda, was murdered in the Hathigawan police station area in Pratapgarh district.
According to the CBI investigation, 2009-batch Provincial Police Service (PPS) officer Haq had gone to the house of Balipur pradhan Nanhe Yadav who was murdered by two motorcycle-borne men.
Yadav's killing had created a law and order situation as a mob of his supporters had set a house on fire, the officials said.
It was alleged that the family members of deceased pradhan and their supporters attacked, chased and assaulted the police party with lathis and other weapons.
When Haq reached Yadav''s house, a mob assaulted and killed him.
The CBI had filed a charge sheet on June 7, 2013 against 12 persons in which Raja Bhaiya was not named.
The charge sheet was filed against Phulchand Yadav, Pawan Kumar Yadav, Yogendra Yadav alias Bablu, Manjit Yadav, Ghanshyam Saroj, Ram Lakhan Gautam, Chhote Lal Yadav, Ram Ashre, Munna Patel, Shiv Ram Pasi, Jagat Bahadur Pal alias Bulle Pal and Sudhir Yadav.
During the trial, Yogendra Yadav alias Bablu died. The special court had convicted 10 accused while Sudhir Yadav was acquitted, a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.
The special court sentenced the 10 convicts to life imprisonment and a total fine of Rs 1.95 lakh, he said.
The court convicted the 10 accused for murder, under the Arms Act and other offences, he added.
The court on October 4 ordered the immediate arrest of the accused after holding them guilty in the case.
The judge had held that the prosecution succeeded to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt that the accused had committed the killing of the officer.
At the time of the pronouncement of the sentence, all the convicts were brought from jail to be produced before the court.
The case was handed over to the CBI after Haq's wife Parveen Azad alleged the involvement of Raja Bhaiya and four others in the killing.
The CBI had taken up investigation in two cases related to the killing -- one arising of the FIR registered by the police and another registered on a complaint by Azad.
However, the agency had filed a closure report in the FIR registered on Azad's complaint.