Amarmani, wife get lifer in Madhumita case

Two other accused were also awarded life imprisonment, ‘shooter’ acquitted

LUCKNOW: A special CBI court in Dehradun sentenced former UP minister Amarmani Tripathi, his wife Madhumani and two others to life imprisonment for the sensational murder of a young poetess Madhumita Shukla at her house in Lucknow on May 9, 2003. They have been found guilty of murder and criminal conspiracy. The four have also been handed a Rs 50,000 penalty each. 

The CBI clinched the case with 79 witnesses, 44 articles and 168 documents relating to the case. But its mainstay was the deposition by Nidhi Shukla and the family servant Deshraj, who was present at the house when Madhumita was shot dead. Deshraj had identified the two shooters, Prakash Pande and Santosh Rai.

Another clinching evidence which the CBI produced was the DNA test report from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Hyderabad, which confirmed that Madhumita was carrying Amarmani’s foetus at the time of her death. 

According to the CBI chargesheet, Amarmani and his wife Madhumani together conspired to eliminate Madhumita for fear of immense social humiliation and loss of political stature. Amarmani’s nephew Rohit allegedly arranged for the two shooters to carry out the job.

The two other accused besides the Tripathi couple are Rohit Chaturvedi and a hired shooter Santosh Rai. The fifth accused, Prakash Chandra Pande, who allegedly shot Madhumita (as per the CBI chargesheet), has been acquitted due to insufficient evidence.

The sentence was awarded by District and Sessions Judge VB Rai who heard the case on a day-to-day basis over the past six months in keeping with the directions of the Supreme Court which had transferred the case to the Dehradun court.

Amarmani’s advocate Suraj Singh Negi told reporters that he would appeal against the judgment in the higher court.

The verdict is seen as a major victory for the CBI which investigated the case for over four years. Baljit Singh, counsel for CBI, told reporters he was “satisfied” with the court’s order, though the CBI would look into how Prakash Chandra Pande got away. “We would definitely like to see him behind bars, too,” he said. However, Madhumita Shukla’s elder sister Nidhi, the main witness in the case, said she was disappointed. “We want that Amarmani should be hanged… we will not settle for anything less,” she told reporters in Delhi after the verdict came. 

“Amarmani should be debarred from the Assembly membership, otherwise he will continue to threaten us and influence the case in the higher courts,” said Madhumita’s mother Shanti Shukla.