Sultanpur (UP), Aug 12 A court here on Wednesday expressed displeasure with the Chhindwara superintendent of police (SP) over the non-appearance of an accused lodged in a Madhya Pradesh jail in connection with the murder of a gunner on board the Shramjeevi Express.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Rakesh Kumar ordered that the accused, Sandeep Kumar, currently lodged in Chhindwara district jail, be produced before the court on August 18.
The court also wrote a stern letter to the Chhindwara SP, stating that the accused’s non-appearance was preventing the framing of charges and causing unnecessary delay in the case, defence counsel Ravi Shukla said.
The case relates to the murder of Rakesh Kumar, who was serving as the gunner of Mohammadabad SP MLA Shoaib Ansari alias Mannu, nephew of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.
According to the prosecution, Rakesh was travelling from Varanasi to Lucknow aboard the Shramjeevi Express on October 25, 2022, when Sandeep allegedly attacked him with a knife near Sultanpur railway station.
The accused allegedly fled after robbing the gunner of his government-issued carbine, magazine and mobile phone.
Rakesh, a resident of Naharpur village under Handia police station in Prayagraj district, succumbed to his injuries during treatment, according to the prosecution.
Sandeep is a resident of Chargawan Prahlad Kundipara in Chhindwara district.
