ADJ VIII CONVICTED SEVEN PERSONS IN THE MURDER OF THEN BJP STATE VICE PRESIDENT AND ACQUITTED SIX PERSONS FOR WANT OF EVIDENCE

ADJ VIII CONVICTED SEVEN PERSONS IN THE MURDER OF THEN BJP STATE VICE PRESIDENT AND ACQUITTED SIX PERSONS FOR WANT OF EVIDENCE

10-APRIL-ENG 1

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA---------------------------Additional District and Session Judge VIII, Ara Civil Court, Neeraj Kishore convicted seven persons in connection with murder of erstwhile Bharatiya Janata Party State Vice President, Visheshwar Ojha while acquitted six others for want of evidences against them and ordered to release them amidst tight security arrangement for the purpose in the court campus. The court fixed April 16, 2024 to announce quantum of punishment. The court convicted Haresh Mishra and Brajesh Mishra sons of Shivjeet Mishra, Umakant Mishra, Tunni Mishra, Basant Mishra, Pappu Singh and Harendra Singh under section 302/307 of IPC and 27 Arms Act while acquitted Brigunath Mishra, Kundan Mishra, Santosh chaudhary, Babloo Thakur, Binod Thakur and Madan Thakur. Brajesh Mishra from Buxar jail, Haresh Mishra and Basant Mishra from Bhagalpur jail attended the hearing through the video conferencing while Tunni Mishra and Umakant Mishra were brought to the court from the Ara jail. Other eight accused who were on bail, surrendered in the court. The Court convicted Haresh Mishra and Brajesh Mishra under section 302/307 IPC and 27 Arms Act while Umakant Mishra, Tunni Mishra, Basant Mishra, Pappu Singh and Harendra Singh under section 307 IPC and 27 Arms Act.

District Prosecution Officer (DPO) cum Additional Public Prosecutor, Manik Kumar Singh said that the then State Vice President, BJP, Visheshwar Ojha of Ojhawalia village under Shahpur police station along with his four supporters had gone to Mrityunjay Mishra at Parsonda Tola in his Safari to participate in the marriage of the nephew of Chandeshwar Upadhayaya of Babhnauli village in the evening on February 12, 2016. Here another vehicle joined the marriage procession. When he was returning home, the miscreants surrounded him at Sonbarsha field and fired indiscriminately on him in which Visheshwar Ojha, his driver Rakesh Kumar Ojha and a supporter Kamal Deo Ojha were injured. Later Visheshwar Ojha succumbed to his injuries during treatment at the hospital. Police had recovered several blank cartridges from the inident site. An FIR No 48/2016 was lodged with the police under Shahpur police station against seven named and four unnamed persons on the statement of Raj Nath Ojha, nephew of the deceased though the police after investigation submitted charge sheet against 13 persons in the court.

The APP said that a three member medical team under Dr. Kripa Shankar Choubey was formed for the postmortem of body of Visheshwar Ojha. Dr. Bikas Singh had operated upon and took out bullets from the body while Dr. Rama Shankar Choubey at Shahpur Referral Hospital had treated Visheshwar Ojha first of all and also treated his driver Rama Shankar Ojha and so all these doctors were produced in the court as witnesses.

A total of 10 witnesses were testified by the prosecution which included four eyewitnesses, three doctors, one investigating officer and two independent seizure list witnesses and the miscreants were convicted on the basis of these witnesses.

The APP further said that two sessions of the murder case of Visheshwar Ojha  took place in the trial court. In the first trial session of case No 390/2016, a total number of accused were tried which included Haresh Mishra, Umakant Mishra, Basant Mishra, Tunni Mishra, Kundan Yadav, Harendra Singh, Pappu Singh, Vinod Thakur, Madan Thakur, Babloo Thakur, Bhrigu Nath Mishra while in the second trail case no 402/2018 was conducted separately in connection with the main conspirator and accused Brajesh Mishra.

Kamal Kishore Mishra, an eyewitness in the murder of Visheshwar Ojha was murdered during the session trial near his house and a named FIR was lodged with the police under Shahpur police station against five persons on the statement of farther of the deceased Sriman Narayan Mishra. Two session trails were conducted in this case in which the main conspirator and accused Brajesh Mishra, before testifying in the session trial number 402/2018, the main witness and eyewitness of the murder Kamal Kishore Mishra was murdered on September 28, 2018. Later the testimony and cross-examination of Kamal Kishore Mishra in session trial number 390/2016 was recorded as exhibit after his murder by the DPO which was accepted by the court as evidence during the debate and the basis of which this decision was given.

The APP stated that Brajesh Mishra, Umashankar Mishra, Mukteshwar Mishra and Raj Kishore Pal were convicted in the murder of Kamal Kishore Mishra and the ADJ II, Ara Civil Court Akhilesh Singh had awarded them rigorous life imprisonment on February 12, 2024.

Rakesh Visheshwar Ojha son of the deceased Visheshwar Ojha gave mixed reactions to this decision. Calling it a victory of justice, he said that had the investigation not been hampered, many more names would have come to light. He added that the RJD leader Shivnand Tiwari and his MLA son Rahul Tiwari were saved by the police under the pressure of the RJD Suremo who was in the then government and the then SP N C Jha was transferred to influence the investigation in the case.