An MP-MLA court here has criticised the police for not producing former Uttar Pradesh minister Amarmani Tripathi before it in an over two-decade-old kidnapping case and issued a notice against him.
The court of judge Pramod Kumar Giri was on Wednesday hearing the 22-year-old case of the kidnapping of Rahul Madheshiya, son of city-based businessman Dharamraj Madheshiya, government counsel Devanand Singh said.
In a scathing remark against the Basti city police for not arresting Tripathi and producing him in the court, the judge said, “Why does it stop taking action against influential criminals? The functioning of the Basti superintendent of police in this matter is objectionable. Due to the police inaction, the accused is absconding.”
He added that the local police shows prompt action when a case involves ordinary poor criminals.
The court rejected an application moved by Tripathi’s lawyer to recall the warrant and fixed November 16 as the next date of hearing in the matter.
In its report to the court, police said that Tripathi could not be found in a raid on his residence in Gorakhpur but the court was not satisfied with it, the government counsel said.
The court issued a non-bailable warrant against Tripathi on October 16 and directed the SP to constitute a special police team to arrest Tripathi and produce him in court on November 1.
On December 6, 2001, Madheshia’s son Rahul was kidnapped and a case was registered in connection with this against nine people, including Tripathi.
It was alleged that the house Rahul was rescued from belonged to Tripathi.
On August 25, the former minister and his wife, who were serving life sentences in the poet Madhumita Shukla murder case, were released from prison ahead of the completion of their terms.
The Uttar Pradesh prisons department had issued an order for their premature release, citing the state’s 2018 policy on remission, since they have completed 16 years of their sentences.
