RLD Candidate Murders Brother And Friend For Sympathy Votes In UP Elections  

Meerut: The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) candidate from Khurja Manoj Kumar Gautam along with his hired killer was arrested on the charges of murdering his own brother and close family friend on Wednesday. The candidate is believed to have got them murdered by hired killers not because of any enmity, but only for getting sympathy votes and winning the election.

The bodies of Gautam's brother Vinod and a family friend, Sachin, were found deep inside a mango orchard. The ghastly incident took place just two days before western Uttar Pradesh goes to polls in the first phase of assembly elections. Voters in Khurja, 85 km from Delhi and known for its ceramics industry, were shocked to learn about murders most foul.

Gautam broke down during police interrogation. He told police that he spent a lot of his resources to get a BSP ticket but in vain. When the Rashtriya Lok Dal of Jat leader Ajit Singh finally gave him a ticket, he felt he had to do everything in his power to capitalize on the opportunity.

"The best way to win, Gautam calculated, was to ride on a sympathy wave that would be generated by news of his brother's death," a senior officer involved in the probe was quoted as saying to Times of India. He is up against the BSP's Arjun Singh, BJP's Vijender Singh and Congress's Banshi Singh, the sitting MLA.

Gautam planned and executed the murders perfectly, timing it just as campaigning reached a crescendo. Shortly after Jayant Chaudhary, the RLD general secretary and Ajit Singh's son, addressed a rally in Khurja on Monday, two of Gautam's hired killers shot a bullet each through Vinod and Sachin.

Investigators traced the calls that had been made to Vinod and Sachin and it was not very difficult for them to zero in on the culprits. Sonia Singh, SSP, Bulandshahr, said, "We have the phone recordings which incriminate Manoj Kumar Gautam. He had hired two killers, Firoz Shabbir and Parwinder Jatav, for the hit. They were paid Rs 1 lakh. While Firoz has been arrested along with Gautam, Parwinder is absconding. We will catch him soon."

Singh added, "During interrogation, Gautam admitted to the crime and said he had been planning this for the past week. He thought if someone in his family is killed, he will be able to blame his rivals and gain politically. He said he was hoping to ride on a sympathy wave. Gautam and Firoz have been booked for murder and for causing grievous hurt (IPC sections 302 and 34)."

In a tight spot and without a candidate, RLD is now battling to contain the damage. "I am not aware of this," party general secretary Trilok Tyagi said. "But if this is true, it is quite terrible."