The Central Bureau of Investigation in a chargesheet filed on Saturday said that Samajwadi Party leader Amanmani Tripathi had murdered his wife Sara Singh in 2015, and later made it appear like she died in a car accident instead. Tripathi was arrested on November 25, after Singh’s mother Seema lodged a First Information Report suspecting something was amiss and the state asked the CBI to look into it, The Indian Express reported.
Tripathi had claimed he and his wife were driving down National Highway 2 when they were involved in an accident. He escaped without any injuries, but reported that she had died. This caused Singh’s family to believe that her death was suspicious.
The agency claimed that the murder was premeditated and that a group of accomplices was involved. It also said that Singh had been subjected to physical torture while she was still alive. The two had married in 2013, against the wishes of Tripathi’s parents Amarmani and Madhumani, both of whom are serving out a life sentence for the murder of poet Madhumita Shukla in 2003.
In 2016, Tripathi was given a ticket for the Uttar Pradesh elections by the Shivpal Yadav faction of the conflict-ridden party. This was later rescinded when Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav announced a list of candidates of his own.
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