In connection with the murder of Afzal, son of ex-Cabinet Minister Aslam Khan, Uttar Pradesh, a special CBI Court has awarded life imprisonment to Virendra Singh Saini, son of ex-Minister of the same State Ram Singh Saini and Rakam Singh, ex-office bearer of various Uttarakhand-based institutions.
The much- awaited verdict on the murder case was delivered on Friday. The murder case which took place in 1989 was being dragging on for these many years, the CBI Special Court had convicted both the accused on December 24, 2014 and gave life imprisonment to Virendra Singh Saini and Rakam Singh on Friday. The court had directed both of them to pay Rs5, 000 each as penalty, it is learnt.
In 1989, during the general election in Uttar Pradesh, the SP leader and then Cabinet Minister Aslam Khan’s son Afzal and Sahab Singh Saini had rushed on hearing reports of booth capturing in Belri village, Roorkee. Afzal was intercepted by a vehicle bearing Congress flag and was shot dead by people inside the vehicle. Police began probing the case. However, it was transferred to CBI, Delhi Branch in December 1989. In the CBI investigation, the names of Virendra Singh Saini and Rakam Singh, residents of Roorkee came into the picture. Around 10 witnesses were presented before the court in course of the trial, it is learnt.