Lucknow: The main accused of 2007 Gorakhpur riots, Mohammad Shamim, was sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Rs 13,500 by a senior session judge, on Tuesday.
Shamim, who had been on the run after getting bail, was arrested by the Kotwali Thana police a month ago in Jafra Bazaar, where he was living incognito in a rented house, police said on Wednesday. ADG Pramod Kumar Maurya, Kotwali inspector Anjul Chaturvedi and the monitoring cell made valuable contribution to the case, said police department.
During his time in hiding, Shamim resided in Chennai for an extended period. On January 27, 2007, he murdered Rajkumar, son of Rajendra Prasad Agrahari, who lived in the Deewan Bazaar area of the Kotwali Thana region. The incident occurred during the Muharram procession, sparking riots in Gorakhpur thereafter.
Rajendra had filed a case of assault and murder against Mohammad Shamim and his associates. The Kotwali Thana police had arrested Shamim and sent him to jail. On August 16, 2007, Shamim was granted bail by the court, after which he remained on the run. Despite a non-bailable warrant by the court, he failed to appear on the specified date. The Kotwali police arrested Shamim, who had been evading law for 16 years, on September 12 morning from a rented house in Nizampur. Police presented him in court, from where he was sent to jail. The senior session judge of Court Number 6 found Shamim guilty of murder, sentencing him to life imprisonment and a fine.
In the murder case, police had also arrested Shamim’s father, Safiullah. On October 10, 2012, Senior Session Judge of Court Number 6 had sentenced Safiullah to life imprisonment and fined him Rs 10,000. Due to his failure to appear for hearings, a non-bailable warrant was issued against Shamim. The high court had taken notice of his prolonged absence from the court.
Shamim, who had been on the run after getting bail, was arrested by the Kotwali Thana police a month ago in Jafra Bazaar, where he was living incognito in a rented house
