Meher Bhargava and the famous four

Meher Bhargava died confronting those who harassed her daughter in law. The accused are still at large, possibly benefiting from political patronage.

29 March 2006
DELHI, INDIA

Latest developments

The accused and his accomplice were shot today during a police encounter in Lucknow, UP, but managed to escape. The police said that they were wounded in the encounter and have alerted all nursing homes and hospitals.

K D Singh, Samajwadi Party leader and block pramukh, was granted bail yesterday by a city court. Singh had been arrested last night under Section 212 of the IPC for harbouring or sheltering criminals. Singh was brought in from Jaunpur to Laucknow on Sunday night and said he had known Siraj (Meher's son) for the past 15 years, and had met Sachin Pahadi in jail on July 30, 2005. He said he had never seen Meher. He has 10-11 cases against him, five of which are for murder.

K D said he had been brought in to assist the police. He also said that Siraj had given him Flat no.313 on rent, but added that he had not been staying there for a year. K D, the son of a DSP, said he was a member of the Samajwadi Party and close to Jaunpur MLA Dhananjay Singh. K D further said that the four accused would not recognise Meher.

Meher Bhargava, wife of a state Congress leader, was shot by four men while at the Dilip Pur Towers compound when she protested their passing lewd remarks at her daughter-in-law Kavita. Meher was there to visit Kavita's parents.

The accused

The four men, identified as Sachin Pahadi, Pramod Singh, Amit Singh and Jaiprakash came down from K D Singh's flat, where they had been drinking the previous night.

The accused tried to flee when Meher threatened to call the police. When Meher's driver chased them, Sachin Pachadi shot at her.

Two of the accused, Sachin and Amit, have a criminal history, with Sachin already having two murder charges against him. The reward on Sachin has been increased from Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,000, according to Hazratganj inspector D K Rai. Amit has cases lodged against him at Mughalsarai police station in Chandauli district.

While Jaiprakash and Pramod have been arrested, Amit and Sachin are still missing.

The victim

Meher Bhargava was the 50-year old wife of senior Congress leader Luv Bhargava. A little more than an month after she was shot, barely metres from the Lucknow police superintendent's office, she succumbed to injuries and died at 6.15 pm on March 25th at the Apollo Hospital where she was admitted.

The reaction

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav said, "I express my regret at the incident. We have already picked up two criminals. Whoever is behind this will not be spared."

State Congress chief Salman Khurshid said, "The broad daylight shooting on February 20 outside a residential apartment, barely 100m from the office of the Lucknow district police chief, and the failure of the administration to arrest the culprits speak volumes about the state of law and order in Uttar Pradesh." He criticised the police saying, "It is an open secret that the assailant was closely connected to the ruling party and that was the simple reason why Mulayam's cops were turning a blind eye to the case."

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) general secretary Satish Misra also condemned the attack saying, "Unabashed patronage extended by the Mulayam regime to criminals has left them unbridled because they know they can get away with murder - literally." He added, "The local police were aware of the whereabouts of the attacker who was hiding right here in the state capital, yet they did not arrest him."

Meanwhile, an Indo-Asian News Service report quoted a woman professor at the Lucknow University as saying, "It is high time the administration realises that they are responsible to common citizens. More and more women are being sexually harassed in Lucknow simply because the culprits usually enjoy the patronage of people in power."