Allahabad high court bins plea to quash case against shooter

Lucknow: A Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court on Monday refused to quash prosecution proceedings against Mukhtar Ansari’s alleged sharpshooter Sarfaraz Ansari alias Munni in the Usri Chatti Ghazipur massacre.

The court said the chargesheet has been filed before the trial court in the case and charges have been framed against the petitioner and the testimony of Shailendra Kumar Rai, father of deceased Manoj Rai, has also been recorded. Hence, there is no justification for quashing the entire prosecution proceedings by interfering under Section 82 of the CrPC at this stage.

A single bench of Justice Rajiv Singh passed the order while dismissing the petition of Sarfaraz Ansari.

The petitioner said the incident occurred in 2001, in which Brijesh Singh’s group had launched attack on Mukhtar Ansari’s group, resulting in the deaths of several people. Manoj Rai, who was allegedly involved with Brijesh, also died in the gang war.

In 2023, Manoj Rai’s father filed an FIR against Mukhtar Ansari and others in Ghazipur, alleging that Manoj was abducted from Buxar and murdered by Mukhtar’s henchmen, who then declared him dead in the Usri Chatti Ghazipur massacre.

During probe, Sarfaraz’s name surfaced and a chargesheet was filed which is currently under trial in court.

Opposing the petition, additional advocate general VK Shahi said the facts of the 2001 incident, as written by Mukhtar, were completely different from the FIR filed by deceased Manoj Rai’s father, Shailendra Kumar Rai, in 2023. The FIR was investigated, a charge sheet was filed, and the prosecution is ongoing. Therefore, it cannot be said that the 2001 and 2023 FIRs are based on the same facts.
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