In 2013, Deputy Superintendent of Police Zia-ul-Haque went to Balipur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh following unrest over the murder of village Pradhan Nanhe Yadav, who was allegedly shot dead by his rivals.Hours later, Haque, then posted as Kunda’s circle officer, was killed — he was beaten during the violence. His wife, Parveen Azad, filed an FIR against then Uttar Pradesh minister and Kunda MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias Raja Bhaiya, and four others.More than 13 years later, a special CBI court has accepted the agency’s closure report against the five, ruling that there were insufficient grounds to proceed against them.Azad declined to comment and disconnected the call, while Haque’s parents’ phones were switched off. Their lawyer too refused to comment.In her FIR, Azad had alleged, “On the directions of Raja Bhaiya, Nagar Panchayat Chairman Gulshan Yadav; minister’s representative Hari Om Srivastava; his driver Rohit Singh; and supporter Guddu Singh first assaulted my husband with sticks and rods and later shot him dead.”In its order dated Saturday, the court said the grounds raised by the complainant (Azad) in the protest petition did not have sufficient merit and that there was no evidence on record on the basis of which cognisance could be taken of any offence against the accused.“The complainant has further failed to show any documentary or oral evidence to establish that the persons named in the present case were involved in the commission of the alleged offence,” it said.Story continues below this adWhat happened in BalipurOn the morning of March 2, 2013, Nanhe Yadav was murdered near a tea stall in Balipur village. His brother, Phool Chand Yadav, reported the incident to Hathigwan police station and a case was registered against four persons.When Nanhe Yadav’s body was brought to Balipur, his supporters and family members reportedly grew agitated and allegedly attacked the police party that accompanied the body.The officers ran to save themselves.Haque also attempted to flee, but his foot slipped into a drain and he fell. Villagers, along with Nanhe Yadav’s supporters and family members, allegedly assaulted Haque with sticks and other weapons.Nanhe Yadav’s brother, Suresh, allegedly assaulted Haque with the butt of his double-barrel gun. But the butt struck the ground, causing the firearm to go off. A bullet hit Suresh in the thigh and he died while being taken to hospital.Story continues below this adTwo FIRs were initially filed at Hathigawan police station over Haque’s death. Two more FIRs were subsequently filed over the deaths of Nanhe Yadav and Suresh.The CBI investigated all the cases.In the case relating to Suresh’s death, the CBI filed a closure report saying he died when his own double-barrel gun discharged accidentally during a scuffle. Suresh had himself been an accused in Haque’s murder case.In the case relating to Haque’s death, one FIR was filed by Manoj Kumar Shukla, the then Station House Officer of Hathigwan, naming 10 persons. The second was filed by Haque’s wife.The agency clubbed the two cases and eventually filed a chargesheet against 12 persons. One had died by then, while another was declared a juvenile.Story continues below this adThe court sentenced the remaining 10 accused to life imprisonment in October 2024, holding them guilty of murder, rioting and other offences.Case against Raja BhaiyaIn the case naming Raja Bhaiya and the other accused, the CBI filed a closure report in July 2013.Azad filed a protest petition against it in September that year. She argued that her husband had been killed in a planned manner and that the agency had failed to probe deeply into the case, overlooking vital evidence.In July 2014, the court rejected the closure report and ordered further investigation into the matter. It had observed that when Haque was attacked, there was no action from the accompanying police force despite weapons being available to them.Story continues below this adIt also noted that it was difficult to believe that only Haque was beaten so severely while the other police personnel sustained no more than minor injuries and scratches, as evident from the medical records. The court questioned why none of the police personnel present at the time had attempted to save the Circle Officer.The court also observed that it remained unclear why only Raja Bhaiya’s polygraph test had been conducted, while no such test was administered to the other persons named in the FIR filed by Azad.The CBI subsequently conducted the further investigation and filed another closure report before the local court in Lucknow on December 22, 2023.