UP legislator gets life term for murder

Allahabad, April 19

The Allahabad High Court today awarded life term to BJP MLA Ashok Singh Chandel and nine others in a 22-year-old shootout incident in Hamirpur district in which five members of a family were killed.

While partly allowing an appeal filed by the state government and complainant Rajiv Shukla, a division Bench reversed the decision of additional sessions judge, Hamirpur, dated July 15, 2002, who had acquitted all 10 accused.

The state government as well as Shukla had challenged the decision of district and sessions judge.

On January 26, 1997, an altercation between local BJP leader Shukla and Chandel led to a shootout in which five persons, including Shukla’s two brothers Rakesh, Rajesh and nephews Ambujh, Ved Nayak and Srikant Pandey died.

Five more persons had suffered bullet injuries in the shootout after which an FIR was lodged against Chandel and others. All 10 accused were acquitted on July 15, 2002, by additional district and sessions judge, Hamirpur, on the ground that the testimony of witnesses were doubtful. The decision was challenged by Shukla before the HC, which reversed the judgment today. — PTI