LUCKNOW: In a significant development, the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court of Lucknow convicted 28 of the 30 accused in the high-profile Chandan Gupta murder case. The court acquitted two accused giving them the benefit of doubt in the dearth of evidence. The quantum of punishment to the convicts of the case is expected to be delivered on Friday. The victim, Chandan Gupta alias Abhishek Gupta, was shot during the Tiranga Yatra, organised by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), as part of the Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2018 in Kasganj district. Consequently, the R-day celebrations turned into violent communal clashes in the district.The incident happened when Chandan, an activist of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), accompanied by his brother Vivek, was riding a motorbike that was part of the Tiranaga Yatra procession. As per the prosecution, as the yatra reached Government Girls College on Tehsil Road, it was ambushed by a group of anti-social elements from Muslim community. They were fully armed with an intent of creating trouble. The attackers, identified as the main accused Saleem followed by his brothers Naseem and Waseem along with Zahid alias Jagga, Asif Qureshi alias Hitler and others, allegedly obstructed the procession of over 100 bikes. The troublemakers even snatched the tricolour mounted on the motorbikes, threw it on the ground while shouting pro-Pakistan slogans and compelling others to do the same.
Source link
