BJP MP acquitted in murder case

Azamgarh District Government Counsel P R Saroj said Yadav and his associates had been acquitted by the court of District Judge S K Pandey.

Yadav was arrested on August 25,2009,for allegedly firing at a group of Ulema Council members in Phoolpur area,causing the death of Abdul Rahman and leaving Farhan Akhtar with gunshot injuries on August 12. Another member,Zahid,had suffered fractures after he was allegedly hit by Yadav with rifle butt.

PR Saroj said the two of the injured and two other eyewitnesses,namely Ulema Council president Amir Rashadi and Imran,had blamed Yadav before court.

However,the ballistic experts report said the clothes of the deceased had no bullet marks but gunpowder that were remains of a crude bomb,said Saroj.

However,the post-mortem examination report of Abdul Rahman said his death was caused by gunshot injuries. Apparently,the accused benefited from the contradiction between the two reports.

Saroj,meanwhile,alleged that evidence in the case was manipulated. The clothes of the deceased were replaced as part of a conspiracy. While the same had been established in an inquiry,the police have not lodged an FIR against those involved,namely Ram Dulare Yadav,a ward boy at the district hospital mortuary,Investigating Officer (IO) Suryabhan Singh,who was SHO of Phoolpur police station,and ballistic expert Rajendra Prasad Singh,he added.

DGC Saroj further said that on his recommendation,an inquiry was ordered and Azamgarh Assistant Superintendent of Police Babloo Kumar conducted it. The ASP submitted his report in April to then Azamgarh SP Vijay Singh Meena who was transferred from the district last week.

The DGC said the ASP found that the ward boy replaced the clothes of Abdul Rahman with those of another body brought to the mortuary. The ward boy had also forged the signature of a doctor on the seal on the clothes before these were sent for forensic tests. The IO did not send the clothes for the test for about 12 months,while the ballistic expert gave a sketchy report,the DGC said.

Saroj said he had requested the then SP to lodge an FIR,but the same was not done.

The ASP’s report,too,was submitted before the court,Saroj said.

Asked about his report,ASP Babloo Kumar said,“I could not complete the probe and had mentioned in the report that a high-level inquiry should be conducted in the matter,as it requires expertise of those in ballistic and the medical fields. But I had found irregularities in the case.”

Azamgarh Range DIG Ram Kumar said,“I am not aware of any such probe or any report by ASP.”