Video opposition from ‘mother-in-law’

Appeal to people to not vote for Amanmani, who killed my daughter Sara, says Seema Singh

CONTESTING THE Assembly elections from Nautanwa constituency in eastern UP’S Maharajganj district, Amanmani Tripathi, expelled from the Samajwadi Party along with several relatives and lodged in Ghaziabad’s Dasna Jail on charges of allegedly killing his wife, is facing a new opposition back in the constituency. Seema Singh, mother of his murdered wife Sara, is urging acquaintances to circulate two videos in which she has appealed the people to not vote for Amanmani.

Thetwo-minutevideos,singh said, tells people how Amanmani allegedly got her daughter killed last year, and then cooked up a story of a road accident.

The CBI had recently filed a chargesheet naming Amanmani in the Sara Singh murder case.

Amanmani’s parents —- formerupministerandfour-timesp legislator from Nautanwa Amarmani Tripathi and mother Madhumani - are both lodged in Gorakhpur jail after they were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the murder of poet Madhumita Shukla. Amanmani’selectioncampaignis being supervised by his elder sisters Tanushree and Alankrita, and uncle Ajeetmani Tripathi.

“I have made an appeal to the people through the two videos to not vote for Amanmani. I made the videos on my cellphone in Lucknow and forwarded them to an acquaintance in Maharajganj district on Whatsapp,” Seema Singh said. “I have requested the person, who is apolitical, to circulate the videos among the people so that my appeal is conveyed.”

Singh said she will not go to Nautanwa.

Amanmani had contested the 2012 election also from the same constituency on a Samajwadi Party ticket and had lost to Kaushal Kishore Singh, an Independent candidate by just over 8,000 votes. In a role reversal of sorts, Kaushal Kishore is the SP candidate from the seat this time.

“Ihaveheardaboutthevideos released by Sara’s mother. I have not seen them yet. We will reply to these videos if we find they are makinganyimpactonthevoters,” Amanmani’s uncle Ajeetmani said. He said there are no indications of any impact as yet.

“We are fighting the election on the plank of development Amarmanitripathibroughtinthe area as legislator from this constituencyonfouroccasions-1989, 1996, 2002 and 2007,” he said.

Thereare24candidatesinfray from Nautanwa, which has about 3.2 lakh voters with a majority families from OBC communities. Theconstituencygoestothepolls on March 4.

Maharajganjdistrictislocated on the India-nepal border, and Nautanwa Assembly segment is surrounded from three sides by Nepal. The Sunauli border entry point to Nepal is in Nautanwa.

In its chargesheet filed on February 18, the CBI held Amanmani guilty of killing his wifebystrangulationwitha“premeditated plan” of getting rid of her, and portraying a “fake” road accidentasthecauseofherdeath.

PTI Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Bahraich’s Nanpara on Saturday.

Express file Amanmani had allegedly killed Sara last year, according to CBI.