Sultanpur murder: Ram Kumar beaten to death before MLA’s brother,say cops

Yadav’s body,bearing multiple injuries and fractures,was found in a field in Kurebhar area of Faizabad on the morning of October 26.

Yashbhadra Singh was arrested on the morning of October 7. The police gave a clean chit to his brother,who was also named in the FIR,saying they found no evidence of his involvement in the crime or conspiracy.

The MLA and his brother are both history sheeters.

Kamla Devi contested the election against Shobhawati Devi,wife of Ram Surat Yadav,a clerk in a college run by the MLA’s family. In the run-up to the election,she had made several complaints to the State Election Commission and the District Magistrate,alleging that the MLA,his brother and their goons first threatened her not to file nomination,and after she filed it,they demanded that she withdraw. Eventually,Kamla Devi won the election.

According to the police,the conspiracy to kidnap Ram Kumar Yadav was hatched on October 11,the day of polling,after he had an altercation with some men of the MLA and his brother,allegedly over bogus voting.

Ramesh Yadav,one of the men,also lodged a case of rioting,assault and criminal intimidation against Yadav and four others at the Kurebhar police station.

An officer associated with the investigation said it was Monu who hatched the conspiracy to kidnap Ram Kumar Yadav and assigned the job to his gang members Kaushlendra Singh alias Dikkat Singh,Sandip Singh alias Handle Singh,Shravan Kumar alias Tillu Gupta and Avinash Rathi.

Ramesh Yadav,who had lodged the complaint against Ram Kumar Yadav,and Ram Surat Yadav,the husband of Kamla Devi’s rival candidate,were tasked with keeping tabs on Ram Kumar’s movement between his residence in Majhwara in Sultanpur district and office in Bikapur in the neighbouring Faizabad district.

The Senior Superintendent of Police,Faizabad,RKS Rathore said on October 25,two of Monu’s associates,riding a motorcycle,and three others on a Tata Safari,reached the Bikapur tehsil offce. Those on motorcycle were Awadhesh Mishra alias Tinnu and Ramesh Yadav. Those in Tata Safari were Dikkat,Handle and Tillu.

As Ram Kumar Yadav left for home on his motorcycle,the two men on motorcycle followed him. After some distance,as Yadav took a turn at the Dakhhinwara crossing,Tinnu Mishra and Ramesh waved him to stop. Mishra engaged him in a discussion on settling the dispute.

While Ramesh had lodged a case against Ram Kumar Yadav,Kamla Devi,on September 26,had lodged an FIR against four men for threatening her. They were Dikkat Singh,Handle Singh,Sunil Mishra and Tinnu Mishra.

Soon the Tata Safari arrived,Ram Kumar was dragged into it,and the vehicle drove away towards Kurebhar,the SSP said.

Inside the vehicle, Ram Kumar was beaten up. The vehicle,which the police has recovered,has bloodstains in it.

The victim was taken to a deserted field close to a canal at Semrauna village ¿ around 5 kms from Ram Kumar’s village Majhwara. There,Dikkat,Handle,Tinnu Mishra,Ramesh Yadav and Tillu beat up Ram Kumar with hockey sticks. After some time,Monu arrived,along with Avinash Rathi,Sunil Mishra and Ramesh Kumar alias Ghanti Jaiswal and they joined in the beating. After Ram Kumar fell unconscious,the assailants left around 9.30 pm. The call details of the cell phones of Monu and Dikkat confirmed that they were in regular contact before and after the abduction. The location of the phones corroborated their presence at the murder spot,investigation revealed.

The SSP added that Ram Kumar had suffered fractures on both legs and serious injuries in his head and chest. He was found dead in the morning by the locals. Rathore said except Rathi,all those involved in the crime have been arrested. Rathi belongs to Muzaffarnagar and had been staying with Monu for several years,he said.