SP MLA, brother get life in prison for murder

A local court of Jalaun Monday sentenced SP MLA Kaptan Singh Rajput and his elder brother Laxman Singh to life imprisonment in a case of murder that took place in police custody in 2002.

Kaptan Singh — who was elected MLA from Charkhari constituency in Mahoba in a bypoll in September last year — faces disqualification following the Supreme Court judgment mandating that convicted MPs and MLAs will immediately lose their seat on being sentenced. He had won the bypoll after Union minister Uma Bharti vacated the seat.
In 2012, Uma Bharti had defeated Kaptan Singh. “The six others booked in the case have been acquitted due to lack of evidence… The court considered the statement of constable Arvind Kumar, who was escorting the victim and is also the complainant. Arvind said the undertrial, who was attacked, had told him on way to hospital that Kaptan, Laxman and three unidentified persons had attacked him,” government counsel Mohammad Wasil Beig said.

On Saturday, the MLA and his brother — who were out on bail — were taken into custody soon after the court held them guilty. They were brought to the court of Special Judge (Dacoity) Sanjay Kumar on Monday from Orai District Jail.

According to the prosecution, on April 20, 2002, three constables escorted Kishanji Dubey — a resident of Jalaun’s Deha village — to Jalaun by a train from Kanpur jail for appearance in a case. While he was being taken to court on a rickshaw, a car arrived and its occupants started firing at Dubey. He suffered gunshot injuries. The police also retaliated, leading to the death of an assailant. Dubey was rushed to a health centre in Orai from where he was referred to Kanpur. On his arrival at the Kanpur hospital, he died. In his dying statement, he had named Kaptan and his brother as the accused.