Convicted of double murder, two brothers held after 12-year chase

LUCKNOW : The UP Special Task Force (STF) arrested two brothers, who were convicted in the sensational murder of two transporter brothers in Jaunpur district, after a 12-year chase, officials said.

The arrests were made from Vadodara district in Gujarat on Friday, the UP STF officials said, adding the arrested men were brought to Uttar Pradesh after a Vadodara court granted their transit remand.

The officials said the two accused brothers were sentenced to life imprisonment by a local court in 2000 in the murder of the transporter brothers over a monetary dispute on May 24, 1994. They said the decision was later upheld by the Allahabad high court and the Supreme Court in 2007. The two accused disappeared from their house in Jaunpur and were living a secret life to evade their arrest by changing their location from one state to another, the officials said. The state police had announced a reward of ₹50,000 each on their arrest.

Superintendent of police (SP), STF, Rajeev Narain Mishra said the two accused brothers were identified as Karunakar Pandey and Pushkar Pandey, resident of Amanipandeypur village under Jaunpur’s Madiyahu police station limits. He said they were currently working as supervisors in separate cloth manufacturing units in Vadodara and staying there in a rented house.

Mishra said the two operated a fuel refilling station in Madiyahu, Jaunpur, till 1994 when they had a dispute with transporters Brijesh Singh and Rajesh Singh, over pending payments. The two accused opened indiscriminate fire with their licensed weapons when the two transporters, along with aides attacked the refilling station, the officer said. The two transporters were killed in the incident.