Sources said Prabhunath Singh and his associates were likely to appeal in a higher court against the Hazaribagh court's judgment
Prabhunath Singh, a former MP and a close associate of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Lalu Yadav, was sentenced to life by a Jharkhand court on Tuesday, which held him guilty in the 22-year-old murder case of the then Janata Dal MLA Ashok Singh.
Earlier, on May 18, the Hazaribagh court of 9th Additional District and Sessions Judge Surendra Sharma, had convicted Prabhunath, along with his brothers and associates Dinanath and Ritesh, following which the trio was taken into custody by the police. The court also slapped a fine of Rs 40,000 each on the convicts.
According to the FIR lodged by the slain MLA's wife Chandani Singh in Patna, Ashok was killed at his official residence in Patna on July 3, 1995, just before he was leaving for his constituency. "The killers had come to meet him on some pretext. They enjoyed our hospitality and shared tea and sweets with my husband. Later, they asked his bodyguard to fetch water and the moment he turned away, they exploded a bomb on my husband's head," it said.
The case was transferred to Hazaribagh in 1997, when the prosecution expressed fear that the accused may try to influence the investigation. Criminal-turned-politico Prabhunath faced at least a dozen criminal charges, including murder.
Chandani said Prabhunath was after her husband's life, ever since he was defeated in the 1995 Bihar Assembly polls and had even publicly threatened to eliminate him within 90 days of his election. "The law has finally taken its course. However, I would have been happier had he been awarded capital punishment instead of life imprisonment," said Chandani, who faced many hardships in the upbringing of her two children after Ashok's death.
The conviction of Prabhunath, a four-term MP from Maharajganj (on both JD-U and RJD tickets) and MLA from Masrakh, comes as a major setback for Lalu, as the noose has also been tightened against party's another don-turned-legislator Shahabuddin.
While Bihar RJD President Ram Chandra Purbe refused to comment on the issue saying it was a legal matter, ally JD(U) also did not reply to any questions related to Prabhunath. The BJP, however, said the time is up for the likes of Prabhunath and Shahabuddin, who will not be brought to justice.
Sources said Prabhunath and his associates were likely to appeal in a higher court against the Hazaribagh court's judgment.
...& ANALYSIS
- RJD chief Lalu Prasad himself is facing heat over charges of amassing benami properties to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore.
- The growing number of cases against Lalu and his kin is bound to have political repercussions in Bihar.
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