Vijay Mishra, kin get 10-year jail term in land grab case

Varanasi: Two days after being awarded life term in an 1980 murder case in Prayagraj, an MP-MLA court in Bhadohi sentenced jailed mafia-don and four-time former MLA Vijay Mishra, along with his wife and son, to 10 years of imprisonment in a land-grabbing case. His daughter-in-law was also convicted and awarded a four-year jail term.The court additionally imposed a fine of Rs 5.26 lakh on the accused while delivering its verdict on Friday.Bhadohi SP Abhinav Tyagi said the case was registered in 2020 against Mishra, a former MLA from Gyanpur assembly seat of Bhadohi, and his family on a complaint filed by his relative, Krishna Mohan Tiwari. The accused were charged with voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy, house trespass, wrongful confinement, cheating, extortion-related threats, and offences under the IT Act.He said that effective investigation and consistent follow-up by the police, monitoring cell, and public prosecutor Pravesh Tiwari led to the successful conviction of the accused.According to Tyagi, the Fast Track Court of Additional Sessions Judge and Special Judge (MP-MLA), Pushpa Singh, found the accused guilty on the charges and awarded the sentence accordingly.The court sentenced Mishra, his wife Ramlali, and son Vishnu to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment each. It also imposed fines of Rs 1.76 lakh on Mishra, Rs 1.75 lakh on Ramlali, and Rs 1.65 lakh on Vishnu. Additionally, Rupa was awarded four years of simple imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 10,000.This marks the first instance in which Mishra’s wife and daughter-in-law have been convicted and sentenced in any case.With around 86 criminal cases registered against him, including charges of murder, robbery, kidnapping, rape, assault, property grabbing, forgery, and extortion, Mishra is currently lodged in Agra jail.On Wednesday, a special MP-MLA court in Prayagraj awarded a life term to Mishra, along with three others, in a 46-year-old murder case. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on each of the four convicted people. The court had on Tuesday convicted Mishra along with Jeet Narayan, Santram and Balram for gunning down 35-year-old Prakash Narayan Pandey on the district court premises on Feb 11, 1980.Pandey, a university student, had come to Prayagraj’s district court to seek bail in a case filed against him. He had an old feud with Santram and Balram.