Madhumita murder case hearing deferred till July 31

Lucknow, July 20 (UNI) The district court today deferred the hearing in the Madhumita Shukla murder case till July 31.

The Supreme Court had stayed the court proceedings in Lucknow in the high-profile case.

Former Uttar Pradesh minister and sitting MLA Amarmani Tripathi, his wife Madhumani and three others are the prime accused in the case and lodged in jail.

Earlier, Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court had granted the Tripathi's bail.

However, Madhumita's sister Nidhi Shukla petitioned the apex court that the bail be cancelled, since Amarmani could influence the penal proceedings against him. The bail was cancelled.

Madhumita, a Lucknow-based poet, was shot dead in cold blood at her Paper Mill Colony residence here on May 9, 2003.

At the time of her death, she was pregnant and the DNA test of her foetus had confirmed that Amarmani had fathered the child.

The incident rocked UP, when BSP chief Mayawati was the state chief minister and Amarmani was a minister in her government. Later, he was removed from the ministry.

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