A trial court in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday announced its verdict in the 23-year-old murder case of Jawahar Pandit—an MLA of the Samajwadi Party. Three brothers from the politically prominent Karwariya family, along with another person, have been found guilty of murder in the case. The quantum of punishment will be announced on November 4.
Those who have been found guilty of murder include former MP Kapilmuni Karwariya, former MLA Udaybhan Karwariya, former MLC Surajbhan Karwariya and Ram Chandra Tripathi.
Jawahar Pandit—who was close to SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav—was sprayed with bullets from an AK 47 rifle in the Civil Lines area of Prayagraj on August 13, 1996. Pandit was on his way to the railway station. The driver of his car and a passerby also lost their lives in the attack.
The prosecution presented 18 witnesses before the court while the defence presented 156 witnesses. For the last two years, on instructions from the High Court of Allahabad, the case had been heard on a day-to-day basis. The incumbent state government had tried to take the case back, but its plea was turned down by the court.
It is noteworthy that the Karwariya brothers found political success after they were accused of having a hand in the murder. Kapilmuni was elected on a BSP ticket in 2009 from Phulpur while Surajbhan gained entry into the Legislative Council from the same party. Udaybhan entered the state assembly in 2002 and 2007 on a BJP ticket from Allahabad. His wife also is currently a BJP MLA.
The initial investigation in the case was carried out by the UP police, but after the intervention of then Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, the case was handed over to the CB-CID. Three units of the investigative agency—from Lucknow, Allahabad and Varanasi—had probed the case. A chargesheet was filed in 2004 against the Karwariya brothers and two others.
Bijma Yadav, wife of Pandit, said she was hopeful that the culprits would get the punishment they deserved. “I have faith that the courts will enforce the maximum possible sentence on those who are responsible for killing of my husband,” she said.