Auraiya. The MP-MLA court in Auraiya, UP, on Wednesday found former Samajwadi Party MLC Kamlesh Pathak, his former block chief brother Santosh Pathak and 8 other accused guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment in the double murder case in the district. Advocate Manjul Choubey and his cousin Sudha were murdered in Auraiya six years ago. One of the accused in this case was a minor. Whose case is being looked after by the Juvenile Justice Board.
According to Auraiya Police, Kamlesh Pathak and lawyer Manjul Chaubey were once friends. There was a dispute regarding about 1 bigha land near Panchmukhi Hanuman temple. The land dispute escalated between Samajwadi Party MLC Kamlesh Pathak and Manjul Choubey. According to the police, SP leader Kamlesh Pathak was trying to increase his influence on this land. Whereas, Manjul was against it. There was enmity between the two. On the day of the incident, Kamlesh Pathak was sitting on the disputed land. There, Manjul Choubey's father arrived and an altercation took place. After this, Kamlesh's brothers Santosh and Ramu also reached there. Whereas, Manjul's family members also reached the spot.
After this there was a fight between the two sides and then firing was done. Manjul Chaubey and his cousin sister Sudha were shot and died on the spot. Police registered a case against Kamlesh Pathak and his brothers and arrested many people. According to the police, Manjul Chaubey was associated with student politics. He was the student union president of Tilak Degree College. Then in the 2006 municipal elections, differences started arising between Kamlesh Pathak and Manjul. Manjul Choubey became close to BJP leaders. At the same time, Kamlesh Pathak became MLA on SP ticket at the age of 28. Then became MLC in 1990. After this, he was also made Minister of State with status in 1991. Kamlesh again became MLA from Dibiyapur seat in 2002. Then he kept losing the elections. SP made him MLC again in 2015.