BJP MLA’s sons booked for attempting to murder businessman who refused to bribe them

Shahjahanpur: An FIR has been registered at Nigohi police station in Shahjahanpur district against Sachin Verma and Manoj Verma, sons of BJP MLA Roshanlal Verma, and another person under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntarily hurting someone) and 392 (robbery) of the IPC on the order of a court. The incident was reported on September 29, 2017 and the victim had attempted to file an FIR but police allegedly refused to accept his complaint because of the MLA.
In his complaint, the victim Santosh Verma, owner of a brick kiln, said that he contacted block chief Manoj Verma for pending payment of bricks which he had supplied for gram panchayat work. Manoj had asked for a 10% “commission”. On being refused, Manoj allegedly attacked Santosh with his aides. Roshanlal is third-time MLA from Tilhar constituency, under which Nigohi block falls. In August 2017, a few police officers in Nigohi wrote to the superintendent of Shahjahanpur seeking transfer from the police station, allegedly because of the MLA.
The FIR was registered on February 3 but the information about the FIR was allegedly kept hidden even from senior police officers and no action has been taken by Nigohi police so far. Information about the FIR came to light when the details were shared with the UP DGP and the state BJP unit through social media.
Superintendent of police KB Singh said, “I am not aware if any FIR registered against the sons of the MLA, but I will definitely look into this matter and ensure proper investigation of this case.”
Station officer of Nigohi police station Suneel Sharma said, “Yes, the FIR was registered on the order of the court on February 3, and investigation, under officer Madhupal Singh, is pending. We have asked for evidence from the complainant and the decision to arrest the accused will be taken on the basis of the investigation report. We are not under any political pressure. I am not aware of the previous complaints filed by Santosh Verma, as I have taken charge only recently.”
Santosh Verma told TOI, “The payment for my bricks was pending for quite a while and I was advised by an officer that the consent of the block chief Manoj Verma is required for releasing the payment. When I contacted Manoj, he asked me to come over to meet him. His brother Sachin and a friend Anoop Chaturvedi were present at the meeting. He asked me to give him 10% of the payment as bribe. I immediately refused to give him anything and said that I would file a complaint. Thereafter, the three men started beating me. Some locals rescued me, but Manoj even opened fire at me. They took Rs 5,700 which I had, and snatched my gold chain.”
TOI tried contacting Roshanlal Verma and his sons but they were not available till the time of filing of this report.