Lucknow: An MP-MLA court in Balrampur has sentenced two accused, Merajul Haq and Mahfooz, to life imprisonment for the murder of former Tulsipur Nagar panchayat chairman and Samajwadi Party member Firoz Ahmad alias Pappu.In his Aug 11 order, judge Pradeep Kumar III also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on the two convicts. The court ordered that Rs 80,000 from each fine will be paid to the victim’s wife as compensation.The court had last week acquitted former Samajwadi Party MP Rizwan Zaheer, his daughter Zeba Rizwan and son-in-law Rameez Nemat in the case for lack of adequate evidence. The court held that the prosecution had failed to establish the charges against them beyond reasonable doubt and acquitted them.Firoz Ahmad was killed in a knife attack on Jan 4, 2022 on the Tulsipur-Jarwa road in Balrampur.Firoz’s brother Afroz lodged an FIR at Tulsipur police station naming Rizwan Zaheer, Zeba Rizwan, Rameez Nemat, Merajul Haq and Mahfooz. Police arrested Rizwan Zaheer and the other accused on Jan 9, 2022, and sent them to judicial custody. Another accused, Shakeel, died during the trial.The trial continued for nearly four years. “The prosecution examined 13 witnesses and placed documentary and other evidence before the court,” said district govt counsel, Kuldeep Singh.Singh, said the conviction was based on the evidence and statements of witnesses presented by the prosecution. He added that govt will study the judgment and case records before taking a decision on any further legal action, including an appeal, on the basis of legal advice.Rizwan Zaheer had represented the Balrampur Lok Sabha constituency twice, in 1998 and 1999. He had also been elected MLA from the Tulsipur Assembly seat three times — as an Independent in 1989, as an SP candidate in 1993 and as a BSP candidate in 1996. He joined the BSP in 2019 and returned to the Samajwadi Party in 2021.
