Amarmani was father of Madhumita's unborn baby: sister

DEHRADUN: The elder sister of slain poetess Madhumita Shukla on Tuesday told a court here that former Uttar Pradesh minister Amarmani Tripathi, a key accused in the murder, was the father of the unborn baby of her sister.

Appearing before the Dehradun District and Sessions Judge V B Rai, Nidhi Shukla said Madhumita had told her that she was carrying Tripathi's child. Tripathi was present in the court during the hearing.

Madhumita had also said they were in love and wanted to marry each other, Nidhi said, adding Tripathi used to frequently visit her sister's house.

Tripathi first took a house on rent for Madhumita and they later bought a house for Rs 1.10 lakh, Nidhi said.

"Rs 60,000 was paid by Madhumita while the remaining Rs 50 thousand was given by Tripathi. He also gave two mobile phones and railway coupons to Madhumita from his MLA quota," she told the court.

The hearing was adjourned when Nidhi pleaded before the court that she was not in a position to continue her deposition as she was not feeling well.

Earlier, Nidhi reached the court amid tight security arrangements and evaded questions from reporters.

The murder case is being heard in Dehradun on a day-to-day basis on the orders of the Supreme Court.