Former Samajwadi Party (SP) minister Ram Karan Arya was sentenced to life by a district court in Basti in a 23-year old murder case. Arya was the sports and excise minister in the Akhilesh Yadav-government.
The court gave its verdict yesterday and also slapped a fine of Rs 20,000 on Arya.
The verdict was given in connection with the murder of Shambhu Pal, who was found dead in 1994. On the fateful day, Ram Karan Arya, the then MLA from Basti north constituency, along with his accomplices, were heading in his car to Gandhi Kala Kendra, when his car was hit by Pal's car from behind.
What started off as a minor tiff between Pal and Arya, soon escalated into a fierce altercation between Arya and Pal’s men. Both the factions left the spot after intervention from the crowd that gathered.
However, Pal was found murdered the next day. Jagdambika Pal, brother of the deceased and the then MLA from Basti central constituency, lodged an FIR accusing Arya and four of his men for murder.
While the court sentenced Arya to life imprisonment, it discharged the other accused for lack of adequate evidence.
