India News | U'khand HC Acquits Fmr MP D P Yadav in Mahendra Bhati Murder Case

Nainital, Nov 10 (PTI) The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday acquitted former MP Dharam Pal Yadav in the murder case of Ghaziabad MLA Mahendra Singh Bhati.

Setting aside the order of the CBI Court of Dehradun, the high court found no concrete evidence against Yadav and ordered his release.

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Yadav had previously been granted interim bail in the case.

On the evening of September 13, 1992, Bhati was shot dead at Dadri railway crossing in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad district. The MLA's accomplice Uday Prakash Arya was also killed in the attack.

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The Bhati murder case was earlier being investigated by the local police, but after the order of the high court, the probe was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 1993.

Taking into consideration the clout of Yadav and fearing that the aggrieved party could influence a fair investigation in Uttar Pradesh, the Supreme Court handed over the investigation of the case to the CBI, Dehradun in 2000.

In the chargesheet filed by the CBI, eight people, including Yadav and notorious crook Pal Singh alias Lakkarpala were made accused.

Four of the eight co accused have died.

Based on the evidence and witnesses presented by the CBI, the court convicted Yadav, Preneet Bhati, Karan Yadav and Pal Singh on February 28 and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

Pal Singh was also punished under the Arms Act.

The CBI had filed a chargesheet against eight people.

Due to the death of Tejpal Bhati and Jaipal Singh Gujjar during the trial, the case went on for years. Third accused Maharaj Singh died in 2005 while fourth accused Aulad Ali died in 2013.

D P Yadav's son Vikas Yadav is serving a 25-year jail term in a Delhi jail in the 2002 Nitish Katara murder case.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)