2013 Pratapgarh clash: 10 get life term in DySP Ziaul Haque lynching case
The case dates back to March 2013, when the victim, DySP Ziaul Haque, had gone to Balipur village in Pratapgarh after being informed about the murder of village pradhan Nanhey Yadav, who had been shot dead by rivals. The DySP had been posted as the Kunda Circle Officer at the time.
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DSP Ziaul Haque was posted as Kunda Circle OfficerELEVEN YEARS after a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) rank officer was beaten to death in a Pratapgarh village, a special CBI court in Lucknow on Wednesday sentenced 10 convicts to life imprisonment.
The case dates back to March 2013, when the victim, DySP Ziaul Haque, had gone to Balipur village in Pratapgarh after being informed about the murder of village pradhan Nanhey Yadav, who had been shot dead by rivals. The DySP had been posted as the Kunda Circle Officer at the time.
Last week, the court had fixed Wednesday for sentencing after finding all the 10 accused guilty under IPC section 302 (murder), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 147 (rioting) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt). The accused, who were out on bail, were then taken into custody and sent to jail.
On Wednesday, after hearing the prosecution and the defence, the court handed down life imprisonment to all 10 accused, said K P Singh, Special Public Prosecutor for the CBI.
All the convicts are from Pratapgarh and several of them are related to the slain village pradhan, Nanhey Yadav. The convicts are Phool Chand Yadav, Pawan Yadav, Manjeet Yadav, Ghanshyam Saroj, Ram Lakhan Gautam, Chotte Lal Yadav, Ram Asrey, Munna Patel, Shivram Pasi and Jagat Bahadur Pal.
The court examined 32 prosecution witnesses and 12 defence witnesses.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 19,500 on each convict, directing that half of the total amount be given to the slain DySP’s wife, Parveen Azad, Singh said.
On Wednesday, the accused were brought to the court amid tight security arrangements.
Defence Counsel Anand Pal said that they would file an appeal against the judgment after studying it.
According to the prosecution, on March 2, 2013, the DySP was attacked when he reached near the house of the village pradhan. He was beaten up with hockey sticks and rods. On coming to know, additional police force reached the village and brought the situation under control.
Haque was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead by doctors. The pradhan’s brother, Suresh, also died in the clash.
In connection with Haque’s murder, two separate FIRs were filed at the Hatigaon police station in Pratapgarh. One of the FIRs named sitting MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh, also known as Raja Bhaiyya.
Two more FIRs were filed at the same police station — one in connection with the murder of Nanhey Yadav and another for the death of his brother Suresh. The CBI investigated all four cases on the recommendation of the state government.
In the case of Ziaul Haque’s murder, the CBI filed a chargesheet against 14 persons in one of the two FIRs. In the other FIR, which had named Raghuraj Pratap Singh, the agency submitted a closure report citing lack of evidence.
The prosecution added that, of the 14 accused, one was declared a juvenile, and his case was separated from the others. The pradhan’s son, Yogendra Yadav alias Babloo, died during the course of the trial, and one accused, Sudhir, was acquitted.
The trial in the Nanhey Yadav murder case, in which five people were chargesheeted, is still pending. Regarding the death of Suresh, who was allegedly among DSP Haque’s assailants, the CBI filed a closure report, saying that his death was accidental — caused by the discharge of his own double-barrel gun during the skirmish.
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