LUCKNOW: Twenty one years after eight-time national badminton champion Syed Modi was murdered in Lucknow, one of the two accused, Bhagwati Singh, was awarded a life sentence on Saturday.
Additional Sessions Judge Shashank Singh gave the benefit of doubt to Jitendra Singh alias Tinku. Both are residents of Rae Bareli.
Modi was shot dead on July 28, 1988, when he was coming out of the K D Singh Babu Stadium after his daily practice session.
He was taken to hospital where doctors declared him dead-on-arrival. Following a political uproar over the murder, the Congress Government headed by N D Tiwari handed over the investigation to the CBI.
The agency concluded that there was an extramarital relation between Modi’s wife Amita and Congress leader Sanjay Singh and Modi was shot by hired killers Bhagwati and Amar Bahadur.
The agency filed a chargesheet against seven persons, including Sanjay, Amita, Congress legislator Akhilesh Singh, Jitendra Singh, Ballai Singh and two others. All seven were arrested and the firearms and the car used for the crime were recovered.
Over the years, Bahadur and Ballai died, and Sanjay and Amita got married.
Opposing the charges, Sanjay and Amita moved an application before the court and were discharged in 1990. Later, the Supreme Court upheld the Lucknow court order.
In 1995, Akhilesh also moved the High Court against the charge framed against him and was discharged.
The SC upheld the HC order. Finally, charges were framed only against Bahgwati and Jitendra.
Sanjay is now a Congress parliamentarian from Sultanpur while Amita is a Congress legislator from Amethi. Akhilesh is an independent legislator from Rae Bareli Sadar constituency.