CBI court awards life imprisonment to 10 for DySP’s murder in UP

The court also slapped a penalty of ₹19,500 on each of the convicts, with half of the total amount to be given to Parveen Azad, the wife of the slain officer, a prosecution official said.

LUCKNOW A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Lucknow on Wednesday awarded life imprisonment to 10 convicts in the 2013 brutal murder of an on-duty deputy superintendent of police (DSP)-rank officer Zia-ul-Haq in Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

The incident occurred on the evening of March 2, 2013, when DySP Haq, then posted as circle officer of Kunda, visited Balipur village after receiving reports of the murder of village head Nanhe Yadav, who was allegedly shot dead by his rivals (File Photo)

The court also slapped a penalty of ₹19,500 on each of the convicts, with half of the total amount to be given to Parveen Azad, the wife of the slain officer, a prosecution official said.

“Those sentenced to life imprisonment are Phool Chand Yadav, Pawan Yadav, Manjeet Yadav, Ghanshyam Saroj, Ram Lakhan Gautam, Chhotelal Yadav, Ram Asrey, Munna Patel, Shivam Pasi, and Jagat Bahadur Pal,” an official said.

The court had reserved its order on October 4 after convicting the 10 people, citing sufficient evidence against them, while acquitting one person in the high-profile murder. It found the 10 accused guilty under various Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, including 302 (murder), 353 (assaulting public servant to deter him from discharge of official duty) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), besides Section 27 (punishment for using arms) of the Arms Act.

The incident occurred on the evening of March 2, 2013, when DSP Haq, then posted as circle officer of Kunda, visited Balipur village after receiving reports of the murder of village head Nanhe Yadav, who was allegedly shot dead by his rivals. On his arrival, the senior police officer came under attack from a mob, who first hit him with sticks before shooting him. The officer’s body was left behind for three hours near the village head’s house.

The case was handed over to CBI, which made several arrests in the following months after the incident. The federal agency named 14 accused in its charge sheet, while it filed a closure report in another FIR that accused Raghuraj Pratap Singh, popularly known as Raja Bhaiya, a local independent legislator, of orchestrating the attack. However, the Supreme Court, on September 26, 2023, ordered CBI to again probe the role of gangster-turned-politician on a petition filed by Haq’s widow Parveen Azad.