The Allahabad High Court has transferred the trial of the Usri Chhatti murder case from the MP-MLA court in Ghazipur to the MP-MLA court in Lucknow. The transfer was made due to the perceived threat to the applicant, Tribhuwan Singh, from mafia dons Brijesh Singh and Mukhtar Ansari. The latter is a complainant in the case and is believed to be a dangerous criminal and gangster. Singh’s supporters, including criminals, gather in the Ghazipur court premises on every date of the trial proceedings, posing a risk to the general public and the presiding officer. The court deemed it impossible to conduct a fair trial in the district court of Ghazipur, thus requiring the defendants to be transferred to another district.
The court has directed the state government to take all precautions to avoid any untoward incident during the trial inside or outside the court premises. Meanwhile, the district judge in Lucknow will take steps to provide adequate security for the trial. In July 2001, former Mau Sadar MLA Mukhtar Ansari’s convoy was attacked near Usri Chatti on Yusufpur Kasimabad road in Ghazipur, which resulted in the death of Ansari’s bodyguard and a shooter named Manoj Rai. One of the injured eventually died, and nine others were injured.
