Police have now arrested Rajendra Sonkar, the main accused in the murder of Mirzapur senior advocate Rajeev Singh.
In a brazen act, the lawyer was shot by two bike-borne assailants in broad daylight. CCTV footage had shown that the accused were unable to escape the crime scene for some time as their bike stopped functioning.
Police have now discovered that the victim, Rajiv Singh, had once secured bail for the accused Rajendra, after he was charged under the Arms Act in 2020.
Singh had served as a village head twice. After his arrest, Rajendra Sonkar told police that he killed Singh as he created obstacles for him to contest and win the election. Rajendra had reportedly pressured Rajeev not to contest, "Because of him, I would not have been able to win the election. Therefore, to remove him from the way, I shot him dead," he said.
Superintendent of Police Aparna Rajat Kaushik stated that, prima facie, the case appears to be an election rivalry.
About eight months ago, the accused had also come to Rajeev’s residence with a pistol in an attempt to murder him. Police had registered a case, but no action was taken. On April 9, the accused had once again gone to the the lawyer’s house and threatened his wife.
On April 10, Rajeev submitted a letter to the SP informing of the incident an demanded action.
Family members of the victim say that the murder could have been avoided if not for police negligence.
Police arrested Sonkar early on Sunday at around 1:30 am in the Katra Kotwali area. He was shot in the legs during the altercation.
Police have also registered complaints against a sub-inspector and two other police personnel in the case og the murder of the former head as they failed to take action for a case that was previously registered against the accused.
A dozen cases have been registered against the accused. Rajendra Sonkar had also shot Ramsnehi Dubgey, the former head of Deori village, who survived the attack. He had also murdered his grandmother about 30 years ago for land. After being released, he lived at his maternal grandmother's home in Danghar.
