Madhumita Shukla murder: Poet's sister demands govt protection, financial help to fight case

The sister of poet Madhumita Shukla, who was shot dead in 2003 in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow, on Friday demanded protection from the government citing threat calls, and financial help from people to fight the case.

Former Uttar Pradesh minister Amarmani Tripathi and his wife Madhumani, who were serving life term in Madhumita's murder case, were released from jail last month.

Nidhi said she was extremely upset with the decision to release the former Uttar Pradesh minister and his wife.

'We have done nothing in our life except fighting this case. Half of my life has gone in this case, but even if it takes the rest of my life I will fight it. Every moment we live under the shadow of fear, our entire future is ruined,' Madhumita's sister Nidhi Shukla told PTI.

'On August 25, we had received threatening calls from an unknown number. We have been living every moment of our lives since 2003 with fear. This fight will go on for a long time. So, I need your support. I will not let the 20 years of hard work go in vain. We demanded Amarmani to be lodged in Tihar Jail,' she added.

The Uttar Pradesh prisons department had issued an order for the premature release of Amarmani Tripathi and his wife, citing the state's 2018 policy on remission, since they have completed 16 years of imprisonment.

The prisons department also cited their age and good behaviour as Amarmani Tripathi is 66 and Madhumani is 61, an official had said citing the order.

The poet, who was pregnant, was shot dead on May 9, 2003, in Lucknow's Paper Mill Colony.

Amarmani Tripathi was arrested in September 2003 in connection with the murder of the poet with whom he was allegedly in a relationship.

A Dehradun court had in October 2007 sentenced Tripathi and his wife to life imprisonment for the murder. The Nainital High Court and the Supreme Court later upheld the sentence of the couple.

The case was probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).