UP politician D P Yadav surrenders in CBI court

DEHRADUN: Controversial Uttar Pradesh politician and former MP D P Yadav today surrendered before a special CBI court here in connection with the 1992 murder of Mahendra Singh Bhati.

Soon after Yadav surrendered in the court of special CBI judge Amit Kumar Sirohi, he was sent to Dehradun jail, his counsel Rupendra Bhandari said.

The court which held Yadav and three others guilty in the case on February 28 is likely to pronounce the quantum of punishment in the case tomorrow, he said.

The CBI court had issued an arrest warrant against Yadav when he did not appear in the court on February 28 on medical grounds.

D P Yadav, Pal Singh, Karan Yadav and Praneet Bhati had been convicted in the case under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

Mahendra Singh Bhati, who was an MLA from Ghaziabad's Dadri area, was shot dead at the Dadri railway crossing in December 1992.

Altogether seven persons, including Yadav, had been chargesheeted in the case out of which three died during the prolonged trial.

The case was transferred to CBI Dehradun in 2000 on the direction of the Supreme Court after doubts were expressed about fair trial in the case in Uttar Pradesh where Yadav was an influential politician.