UP Court Summons Shia Waqf Board Chief to Stand Trial in Murder Case

Lucknow: A Lucknow court on Wednesday summoned Shia Central Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi and his associate Zia Abbas to stand trial in a murder case.

Judicial Magistrate AP Singh summoned the duo, rejecting a 'final report' by Lucknow police seeking closure of the July 2014 case on the ground that the victim had died after having been trampled in a stampede.

The court summoned the duo to appear before it on August 19, ruling that there is prima facie evidence available to put them on the trial. The court issued summonses accepting a protest application by Shia cleric Kalbe Jawwad, objecting to the prosecution's plea to close the case against Rizvi and Abbas.

The FIR in the case had been filed by Jawwad at the Wazirganj police station on July 25, 2014 after the incident. In the FIR, Jawwad had said on the day of the incident, he was going to the chief minister's office in a procession to submit a memorandum against the alleged grabbing of Shia Waqf land.

The procession was, however, stopped near Shahid Smarak by the police, while Rizvi and his supporters began creating ruckus there. Police in its final report, filed after investigation, gave a clean chit to Rizvi and Abbas, saying police tried to stop the procession and used force, triggering a stampede in which many got injured.

During this, a man Syed Karrar Mehndi fell down and was crushed to death, police said in the final report, seeking closure of the case. But Jawwad in his protest application contended that the police had sought closure of the case under the pressure of the previous government.

He also said in his application that the victim's wife and daughter were also present in the procession and they had seen the incident. The two women had also told police that Waseem and others had assaulted Mehndi with lathi, said Jawwad in his protest application, adding that the women had also reiterated their statements to the then senior superintendent of police.

But police have filed the final report in the case, ignoring their crucial statement, said Jawwad.