Lucknow: Nearly 24 years after former Lucknow Bar Association president and senior advocate Indra Dev Singh (55) was gunned down in broad daylight, a special CBI court on Tuesday sentenced three men to life imprisonment for his murder, with his daughter Noida Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh and widow Nayantara Singh, present in the courtroom as the verdict was delivered.Laxmi Singh relentlessly pursued as a young IPS officer before eventually rising to head the Noida Police Commissionerate.Special Judge Vayu Nandan Mishra of the CBI Court convicted Vikram Yadav alias Kalia, Brijesh Yadav alias Munna and Panna Singh under Sections 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and awarded all three life imprisonment.CBI public prosecutor KP Singh said the court also imposed a cumulative fine of ₹1.5 lakh on the convicts and directed that 80% of the amount be paid to the complainant as compensation. Counsel for the convicts, Ashish Tripathi, said the judgment would be challenged before the high court.As the sentence was pronounced, Laxmi Singh remained seated quietly beside her mother in the packed courtroom. After the proceedings concluded, the mother and daughter left the court premises without making any public statement.Indra Dev Singh was shot dead on August 8, 2002, near the Kaiserbagh Telephone Exchange while returning from the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad HC.According to the prosecution, two assailants on a motorcycle intercepted Singh and opened fire at close range before fleeing. He succumbed to his injuries shortly afterwards.His wife, Nayantara Singh, lodged an FIR at Kaiserbagh police station, alleging that the murder stemmed from a dispute over a ₹3-crore property on Sitapur Road.The sensational killing triggered widespread outrage among the legal fraternity, with lawyers staging protests and demanding a CBI inquiry. The CBI said in its investigation that the murder was the outcome of a criminal conspiracy orchestrated over the property dispute.It named Manna Lal Gupta, Ved Prakash alias Neta, Vikram Yadav alias Kalia, Chhote Lal alias Chhotu, Brijesh Yadav alias Munna and Panna Singh as accused. The agency filed its chargesheet in 2004, and charges were framed the same year.According to complainant’s counsel RK Yadav, Vikram Yadav and Brijesh Yadav arrived on a motorcycle and shot Indra Dev Singh before escaping, while Panna Singh was part of the conspiracy.Three of the original accused — Manna Lal Gupta, Ved Prakash Lohia alias Neta and Chhote Lal alias Chhotu Yadav — died during the pendency of the trial.Daughter’s Pursuit Brought CBI Into the CaseLaxmi Singh’s pursuit of justice proved pivotal in the investigation. Soon after her father’s murder, she met the then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and sought a CBI inquiry into the case. The state government subsequently handed over the investigation to the central agency and also provided security to the family. Her request for a cadre transfer was later accepted. Over the following two decades, she rose through the ranks of the Indian Police Service and currently serves as the Police Commissioner of Noida.
