2001 Kidnapping case: Court orders attachment of ex-minister’s properties

He added that on Saturday, the station house officer of the Kotwali police station Vinay Pathak filed an application in court, saying it was a “clerical mistake” of mentioning another court in the proclamation notice issued to the accused.

“The police officer also mentioned in the application that a correction has been made, a day after the error was pointed out. The error was pointed out a day after the notice was issued. The court has yet to dispose of this application and set the next date of hearing on December 20,” said Singh.

On August 24, the Uttar Pradesh government ordered the premature release of Tripathi, a four-time former MLA, and his wife Madhumani, serving life imprisonment in the 2003 murder case of poet Madhumani Shukla in Lucknow. The government then said Tripathi and his wife showed “good behaviour while serving the term”.

When contacted, Amarmani’s lawyer Jung Bahadur Singh said on Saturday that they filed an application in court seeking more time to bring Amarmani to court. “We told the court that Amarmani was unwell and undergoing treatment. The court rejected the application and order for attachment of Amarmani’s properties,” said the defence counsel.

According to the prosecution, in 2001, businessman Dharam Raj Gupta’s son Rahul Gupta was allegedly kidnapped from near his house in Basti. Police found Rahul purportedly locked up in a house said to be under the possession of Amarmani Tripathi and booked nine persons, including the former minister, in this case.

Of the total nine accused, one has died and two others have been at large after jumping bail, police said. The case file of five accused has been separated from the rest. The court has recently framed charges against them and trial against them.

Earlier, when Amarmani failed to appear despite several summons, the Basti court issued a notice to the Basti police, directing them to produce Amarmani before it.

The Basti police filed a report before the court, saying that Amarmani was undergoing treatment at BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur. Amarmani, who was then serving a life sentence in a Gorakhpur jail, was sent to the hospital for treatment.

The court had then directed the Gorakhpur Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to constitute a medical board to examine Amarmani’s health condition and submit a report. Following the order, the medical board examined Amarmani and the report was submitted to the court.

After going through the medical examination report, the Basti court ordered the Gorakhpur district jail to produce him (Tripathi) before it. The jail authorities, however, informed the court that Amarmani had been
released.

The court then again directed Basti police to produce Amarmani. The Basti police filed a report before the court, stating Amarmani was undergoing treatment at BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur. Amarmani, who was then serving a life sentence in a Gorakhpur jail, was sent to the hospital for treatment.