New Delhi, Nov 16: CBI today carried out searches in various parts of Uttar Pardesh and here to trace Madhumani, wife of former BSP minister Amarman Tripathi, who has gone missing after the alleged killer of Madhumita Shukla was arrested by the agency on November 10. The CBI searched for her at her husband's official residence at Lucknow, her native place in Ram Nagar, places of relatives in Delhi besides some other places in Gorakhpur, agency sources said.

The search was intensified further after the alleged killer of the 24-year-old poetess Madhumita, Prakash Chander Pandey, is understood to have told the investigators that he was hired by Santosh Kumar Rai and Rohit Chaturvedi, cousin of Tripathi, who in turn was asked to carry out the killing allegedly by Madhumani. The sources said that Madhumani was required to clarify certain points that had surfaced during interrogation of the three, who were brought here last night to undergo a lie detector test.

The CBI has already pasted a summon notice under Section 160 of the criminal procedure code at the official residence of Madhumani.

The high court in Uttar Pradesh had asked CBI to arrest her only when the agency had irrefuteable evidence against her but had directed Madhumani to make herself available for questioning as and when required. Bureau Report