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With
the TV channels playing the murder mystery with extra tinge and the
opposition and public opinion mounting, the UP Chief Minister
Mayawati had no option than to sack Tirpathi from her cabinet.
However, his removal came with strings attached; the police officer
who initially took up the case was transferred, the case instead of
being handed over to the CBI was given to CB-CID, the state
investigating agency.
The
domestic help of Madhumita who was an eyewitness to the murder, was
taken to custody with no trace of his whereabouts. Madhumita’s
sister Nidhi, who initially alleged Tirpathi to be the main
conspirator, backtracked from her own statement. The sample of
foetus taken for the DNA test to ascertain the parentage of the
child was being withheld. The whole thing looks as if is being
hushed up till public memory fades.
A
new twist to Madhumita murder mystery emerged, when the name of a
student of IIT Kanpur was tossed up alleged to have married the
poetess. A priest too has surfaced claiming to have solemnised one
such wedding, a yea ago. The student is believed to have gone to
Singapore for summer course and his parents vehemently deny such
allegations.
It’s
no secret that Amarmani Tirphati had contacts with Madhumita, it’s
also an open fact that more than 35criminal cases are registered
against Tirpathi, which include murder, extortion and abduction.
However, with all the clinching evidences, the general perception is
the minister will never be brought to book. With the investigating
agency famous for being astonishingly slow, it is also a foregone
conclusion Madhumitta’s case will prolong till public memory
sleeps.
In
context north India’s social and political milieu, Madhumita’s
case is not an isolated one. The Indian Express reporter, Shivani
Bhatnagar murder case too had a similar plot. Here an officer of
Indian Police Services, R.K Sharma stands accused having an illicit
affair with Shivai Bhatnagar. It’s alleged that R.K Sharma unable
to carry on his relationship with Shivani plotted her murder.
Shivani
murder mystery twisted, when R.K Sharma’s wife, screamed on
television channels, alleging Union Minister Pramod Mahajan having
illicit relationship with the deceased. However, with entire ruling
coalition coming in defence of Mahajan, Mrs Sharma’s allegation
was summarily rejected. The political career of Pramod Mahajan which
had come under cloud retrieved and RK Sharma, who later surrendered
in the court, languishes in Delhi’s Tihar jail.
It’s
common in India to read cases like Madhumita and Shivani cropping up
from time to time. In 1995, Naina Shani murder case took the nation
by a storm. It was alleged that a small time Congress member, Sushil
Sharma, murdered his wife Naina Shani, also a Congress activist, for
having an affair. Sharma then tried to burn Naina’s corpse in a
tandoor at a Delhi hotel, Ashoka Yatri Nivas, but was accidentally
got noticed by the Delhi cops.
Interestingly,
the cops bumped over the case unknowingly, when they detected huge
smoke emerging from the hotel building and they helped extinguishing
the blaze which was hitting the ceilings due large amount of Ghee
being poured into the Tandoor. The cops found to their surprise, a
charred body in the tandoor, when brought the fire under control,
which actually belonged to Naina Shani.
The
Naina Shahni murder case hogged media headlines for days together.
Sushil Sharma who had fled Delhi by then was dubbed as Tandoor
Sharma by India’s vibrant media. It was after days of manhunt he
was finally arrested in Bangalore. Naina Shani murder case still has
not been disposed even eight years has elapsed to that gory
incident.
Something,
closer to all these cases rocked the nation in late seventies too.
This was the murder of India’s badminton star, Syed Modi, who was
shot dead near Lucknow stadium while returning home after a practice
session. All evidences to Syed Modi’s murder, point the
involvement of Sanjay Singh, the scion of erstwhile Amethi estate
and nephew of former Prime Minister Prime V.P Singh. It is alleged
that Sanjay Singh having fancy for Modi’s wife Amita, hatched up a
conspiracy to murder the badminton star.
National
champion, Syed Modi, whose actual name was Mehdi but being
misspelled in school records, became Modi, had a roaring affair with
Amita, also a national badminton champion. They eventually got
married and settled in Lucknow representing the Railways. This is
when Sanjay Singh appears on the scene.
The
CBI which investigated the case published startling letters to prove
the illicit relation that had developed between Sanjay Singh and
Amita Modi. It said that at some point Amita too had been enamoured
by the wealth and clout of Sanjay Singh and her mother too favoured
the Raja to a badminton star. The All England champion, Syed Modi
who had no clue what was going on behind his back, became victim of
politics, sex and crime game.
Syed
Modi murder still remains mystery in the court of law even though
every one knows the main conspirator of his murder. Amita Modi has
now become Amita Singh and lives with Sanjay Singh as his second
wife, first being Garima Singh. Sanjay Singh’s political career
remains untarnished and he is a senior Thakur leader of Uttar
Pradesh.
All
the cases, whether it is Madhumita, Shivani Bhantanagar, Naina Sahni,
or Syed Modi, have the common factor of strong male bias in the
Indian society. Our country may have made phenomenal progress in
certain areas but when it comes to the social values specially man-
woman social status, India is still under the grip of feudal
mindset. Even as skeletons continue tumbling out of the social
closet, laced with stories of crime, politics and sex, the general
perception over this social issue remains unchanged in India.
Syed
Ali Mujtaba is a television journalist currently based in Chennai
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