After 19 years of trial, a CBI court here has convicted all the seven accused in the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal murder in present-day Prayagraj on January 25, 2005.
The court pronounced life term to six of them, while one was given four years imprisonment in the killing of Raju Pal and two others.
Special Judge in MP/MLA court Kavita Mishra sentenced Farhan to four years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000 was imposed on him for possessing illegal weapons. Israr Ahmed, Ranjit Pal, Javed, Abid, Gulshan and Abdul Kavi were found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, and a fine of Rs 50,000 each was imposed on them.
Two more accused, mafia don Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, were murdered a year ago.
BSP MLA Raju Pal was killed along with Devilal Pal and Sandeep Yadav in broad daylight in Prayagraj on January 25, 2005.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed a charge sheet against 10 people, including former MP Atiq Ahmad and his younger brother, former MLA Ashraf, alias Khalid Azim, in the case. Gulphool alias Rafiq Ahmad also died during the trial of the case.
On the direction of the Supreme Court, the investigation in the case was transferred to CBI in 2016.
The murder was the fallout of the rivalry between Raju Pal and Atiq Ahmad following the former’s victory in the 2004 assembly by-election from Prayagraj West seat which did not go down well with Atiq and Ashraf.