PWD engineer murder case: BSP MLA convicted, gets life sentence

Lucknow: A sessions court in Lucknow today convicted BSP MLA Shekhar Tiwari for murdering PWD engineer Manoj Kumar Gupta in 2008.  

Tiwari and nine others have been sentenced to life imprisonment by the court.  Tiwari's wife, Vibha, has been given two-and-a-half years of rigorous imprisonment. She was booked on charges of criminal conspiracy and for destruction of evidence.  

The BSP MLA from Auraiya, Tiwari was accused of killing the executive engineer for not favouring contractors close to him while awarding PWD contracts. The engineer was murdered on December 24, 2008.

Soon after his murder, Manoj Gupta's family had alleged that he was killed for his refusal to contribute to funds for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's birthday celebrations. They, however, retracted this statement and so this motive for the murder was never mentioned in the trial.

Besides Tiwari, others who have been sentenced to life imprisonment are: Vinay Tiwari, Rambabu alias Putti, Yogendra Dohre alias Bhatia, Manoj Awasthi, Devendra Rajput, Santosh Tiwari, Gajraj Singh, Pal Singh and former SHO Dibiyapur Hoshiyar Singh. (With PTI Inputs)