Political vendetta behind Surendra Singh's murder in Amethi, say sources

Amethi: In a major development in BJP supporter Surendra Singh's murder case in Amethi, sources on Monday said that the incident is the result of political vendetta. Sources added that Singh was involved in some disputes when he was the village head (gram pradhan) and it is suspected that this became the real cause behind his murder.

Three people - Ramchandra, Dharmnath Gupta and Naseem - have been arrested in connection with the murder while the Crime Branch is looking out for two shooters. Ramchandra had also contested for the Gram Panchayat election. 

The police added that Singh also had land disputes with some villagers. The altercation between Singh and some other people over a piece of land took place during the Gram Panchayat and Lok Sabha elections. This detail has also been mentioned in the FIR filed by the police in Singh's murder case and police are also investigating these angles.

At least seven people have been interrogated in connection with the case and a case has been registered against five of them. 

"We have come to know about an old enmity. We are also trying to find out if there was any political enmity. The initial investigation has thrown up some vital clues," Director General of Police (DGP) Om Prakash Singh said on Sunday, news agency PTI reported.

"UP police teams are conducting a very intensive investigation. We have also got important evidence through electronic surveillance," the DGP said, adding that he was hopeful that the case would be solved "in the next 12 hours".

Singh's murder was the first incident of post-poll violence in Uttar Pradesh. He was shot dead on Saturday night at Baraulia village.  He was a close aide of BJP leader Smriti Irani, who recently won the Lok Sabha election from Amethi after defeating Congress president Rahul Gandhi. 

In the FIR lodged at the Jamo police station in Amethi, the complainant, Singh's brother Narendra said, "On the intervening night of May 25-26, my younger brother Surendra Singh was sleeping in the verandah of the house, along with nephews Abhay and Anurag, when we heard the sound of gunshots.

"As we woke up, we saw Wasim, his brother Nasim and Golu running away. Across the road, we saw Ramchandra. In this case, there is also a conspiracy of Dharamnath Gupta (related to the panchayat polls). Ramchandra was involved in a scuffle with one of my nephews during the Lok Sabha polls, due to which the incident took place," he said. 

When contacted, Jamo Station House Officer (SHO) Rajeev Singh said, "Wasim, Nasim Golu and Ramchandra have been booked under section 302, IPC. Dharamnath Gupta has been booked for conspiracy charges. Investigations are going on."

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had directed the DGP to take effective action and report back to him.

Irani on Sunday had visited Amethi and also took part in Singh's funeral procession. 

(With PTI inputs)