Lucknow: A special CBI court in Lucknow on Tuesday convicted three men in the 23-year-old murder case of former Lucknow Bar Association president and senior advocate Indra Dev Singh, bringing one of the city’s most high-profile criminal trials to a close.Singh, 55, was shot dead on August 8, 2002, while returning home from the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court. He was the father of senior IPS officer Laxmi Singh, currently serving as Police Commissioner of Noida, whose efforts played a key role in securing a CBI investigation into the case.Special Judge Vayu Nandan Mishra of CBI Court No 2 convicted Vikram Yadav alias Kalia, Panna Singh and Brijesh Yadav alias Munna under Sections 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. The court will hear arguments on the quantum of sentence and pronounce punishment on July 7.Indra Dev Singh was attacked at around 4 pm near the Kaiserbagh Telephone Exchange, a short distance from his home. According to the prosecution, assailants on a motorcycle opened fire before fleeing the scene.Following the murder, Singh’s wife Nayantara Singh lodged an FIR at Kaiserbagh police station against several named accused under Section 302 IPC.The killing was allegedly linked to a dispute involving a Rs 3-crore property on Sitapur Road. The case triggered widespread outrage among the legal fraternity. Lawyers staged protests and demanded a CBI inquiry, while Laxmi Singh, then a young IPS officer of the 2000 batch serving in the West Bengal cadre, approached the state government for a central investigation.Acting on the family’s request and pressure from the legal community, the Uttar Pradesh government transferred the case to the CBI.During its probe, the agency alleged a wider conspiracy and named Manna Lal Gupta, Ved Prakash alias Neta, Vikram Yadav alias Kalia, Chhote Lal alias Chhotu, Brijesh Yadav alias Munna and Panna Singh as accused. The CBI filed its chargesheet in 2004 and charges were framed the same year.According to complainant’s counsel RK Yadav, Vikram Yadav and Brijesh Yadav arrived on a motorcycle and shot Indra Dev Singh before escaping. The prosecution maintained that the murder stemmed from the ongoing land dispute.After a trial spanning more than two decades, the court found Vikram Yadav alias Kalia, Brijesh Yadav alias Munna and Panna Singh guilty of murder and criminal conspiracy. The remaining accused were not convicted due to insufficient evidence.
