Murder case trial edit

The scandal surrounding Modi's murder on July 28, 1988, outside the K. D. Singh Babu Stadium, Lucknow, attracted worldwide attention [1], subsequently, the Government of Uttar Pradesh ordered an investigation by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which in its chargesheet of November 7, 1998, named seven people including Amita Modi, nee Kulkarni, wife of the victim, politicians Sanjay Singh (with whom she was allegedly having an affair) and Akhilesh Singh for conspiracy, and Bhagwati Singh alias Pappu, Jitendra Singh alias Tinku, Amar Bahadur Singh and Balai Singh for executing the crime. Meanwhile, separate courts gave all the three charged with conspiracy, a clean chit and their judgments were later upheld by the Supreme Court, the driver of car, Jitendra was also let off by the courts on the benefit of doubt as none of the eye-witnesses managed to recognize him. The other accused Amar Bahadur Singh was murdered and Balai Singh died during the course of trial. [2][3][4][5] In 1995, Amita married Sanjay Singh and changed her name to Amita Singh.[6]

Nearly two decades after the murder, a Lucknow Sessions Court on August 22, 2009, found Bhagwati Singh guilty on the basis of two eye-witnesses, Kishan Bahadur, a rickshaw-puller parked at the crime scene and Prem Chandra Yadav, an employee of the stadium canteen, both of whom recognized him. Though the prosecution could not prove the motive or the conspirator in the case, Singh was found guilty on two counts under Section 302 (murder) and Section 27 (possessing illegal arms) of Indian Penal Code (IPC). He was sentenced to life imprisonment along with five years' RI, besides this he was fined Rs 40,000 and Rs 10,000 fine for possession of unauthorized weapon.[3][7].

  1. ^ Bernard Weinraub (1998-08-28). "India Murder Scandal Mixes Sex and Politics". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  2. ^ "Court Dismisses CBI Appeal in Syed Modi Murder Case". The Hindu. 2004-12-09. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  3. ^ a b "Syed Modi case closed, motive unclear". August 21, 2009. The Times of India. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  4. ^ "Life term for one in Syed Modi murder case". The Hindu. Aug 23, 2009. Retrieved August 23 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ "Love all !!". Hindustan Times. Retrieved August 23, 2009.
  6. ^ "Fifteenth Lok Sabha Members Bioprofile". Lok Sabha Secretariat. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
  7. ^ "Killer of badminton player Syed Modi gets life imprisonment". Hindustan Times. August 22, 2009.