Lovely challenges life-term in High Court in DM murder case

Patna, Oct 5 (UNI) Former MP Lovely Anand today filed an appeal in the Patna High Court challenging the life imprisonment handed down to her by a local court on October 3 in connection with the murder of former Gopalganj District Magistrate G Krishnaiya in 1994.

In her petition, Lovely Anand maintained that the judgement of the trial court was ''illegal'' and ''unwarranted'' and urged the High Court to set aside the order sentencing her to life imprisonement.

She also contended that the statement of witnesses who deposed before the Court did not indicate that she had at any stage abetted the killing of the Gopalganj DM and hence the Court's order awarding her life-term in the case, was totally unwarranted.

Earlier, the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Ram Shrestha had handed down capital punishment to former MP Anand Mohan, former minister Akhlak Ahmad and former MLA Arun Kumar while life imprisonment was given to former MP Lovely Anand, JD(U) MLA Munna Shukla, Harendra and Shahshisekhar in this connection.

The case was transferred from Muzaffarpur to Patna in May 1996 as per the directive of the Patna High Court.

Gopalganj District Magistrate G Krishnaiya was lynched by a mob at Muzaffarpur on December 5,1994 when he was returning to Gopalganj after attending an official meeting at Hajipur.

UNI