Sacked UP minister gets wife’s support

Minister Anand Sen has been accused of murder

LUCKNOW: Former UP Minister Anand Sen Yadav, snared in a murky episode involving the alleged murder of his young lover, got a hint of relief from his wife Indu Sen Yadav, a block pramukh in Faizabad.

“My husband is innocent. He is the victim of a conspiracy to finish his political career,” Indu told reporters on Wednesday. She said that the girl, Shashi, a 24-year-old law student from Faizabad, was like a “younger sister” to her. “She used to accompany my husband to political functions sometimes. But there was nothing more than that. There were no illicit relations,” she said.

Shashi has been missing since October 22, and her father Yogendra Prasad has alleged that the minister had got her eliminated after she became pregnant. UP CM Mayawati dropped the minister and ordered a CBI inquiry on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the minister’s driver Vijay Yadav, now in police custody, was taken to the Ramghat bridge in Sultanpur district from where Shashi had reportedly jumped to her death. Vijay had told the  police that Shashi was with him when she committed suicide. Shashi’s body is yet to be found. Local people told the police that the fishermen had reported seeing a girl’s body floating. “They told us that they had even told the local police about it, but nothing was done to recover the body,” a  police official said.