Varanasi: All six accused, including Gosainganj MLA Abhay Singh, MLC Shyam Narayan alias Vineet Singh, Sanjay Singh, Vinod Singh, Sandeep Singh and Satyendra Singh, in a case of attempt to murder former MP Dhananjay Singh dating back to Oct 2002, were acquitted by the court of Special Judge (MP-MLA) here on Wednesday. The court ordered their acquittal in the absence of any conclusive evidence of their involvement in the case.Additional district govt counsel (criminal) Vinay Singh said the court of Special Judge (MP-MLA) Tajuvendra Vikram Singh, in his 78-page judgement, ordered acquittal of all accused, mentioning that prosecution failed to prove charges beyond reasonable doubt, due to which there is no ground for conviction. Giving benefit of doubt, all accused were acquitted and their bail bonds were also released.Nine witnesses of prosecution and seven of defence side were examined in the case that lasted 23 years. Hearing remained halted in the court between 2012 and 2025 due to a High Court order.Jubilant over his acquittal, Abhay, the two-time MLA from Gosaiganj, expelled from Samajwadi Party on June 23, 2025, for anti-party actis and voting in favour of rival BJP in Feb 2024 Rajya Sabha elections, said lodging of case by Dhananjay was a political conspiracy, which was foiled.All accused were present in court at the time of verdict, while Dhananjay, who kept appearing before the court in last-round hearing, did not appear on Wednesday. Heavy police force remained deployed in and around the court premises till Abhay and Vineet left the compound.The murderous attack on former Jaunpur MP Dhananjay Singh and his associates was made in Nadeser area of Varanasi on Oct 4, 2002, when they were returning to Jaunpur after visiting a hospitalised family member. It was alleged that as soon as their SUV approached near Taksal Cinema Hall in the Nadeser area, Abhay and his accomplices allegedly opened indiscriminate fire at Dhananjay with intent to kill. In self-defence, Dhananjay’s gunner fired back. Meanwhile, a police vehicle arrived at the scene, following which Abhay and his associates fled the scene.In this attack, Dhananjay, his gunner Vasudev Pandey, driver Dinesh Kumar Gupta and several others claimed to have suffered injuries. The sudden outbreak of firing also triggered a stampede at the scene. Police admitted Dhananjay and his associates to local private hospital in Maldahiya for treatment.Dhananjay, who was then MLA from Rari seat in Jaunpur, filed named FIR against Abhay and five others at Cantt police station. After completing the investigation, Cantt police submitted a chargesheet in court on Dec 14, 2002, against Abhay and five other accused persons. The struggle for dominance between Dhananjay, Abhay-Vineet was considered to be the reason behind this shooting incident.
