'History Sheeter' made UP BJP youth wing state secretary

BJP was left red faced after one of the secretaries whose name appeared in the list of office bearers of its youth wing turned out to be a 'history sheeter'.

To add to the embarrassment of the saffron party, its vice-president of the UP youth wing made headlines after he helped a history sheeter in escaping from police custody a few months back.

According to the sources, Arvind Raj Tripathi, a resident of Kanpur town, who has been made the UP BJP Youth wing state secretary, faces as many as 16 cases, including those of murder, attempt to murder and extortion.

Tripathi, who had also been prosecuted under the Goonda Act, is a 'history sheeter' of Kakadeo police station in Kanpur, sources said.

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Tripathi was sentenced to life imprisonment by a district court in a case of murder of a student leader in Kanpur in 2005. He was however acquitted by the high court in the matter. He was also accused of killing a canteen operator in Kanpur.

Tripathi, however, claimed that the cases against were ''politically motivated'' and were registered during the BSP regime.

BJP state Youth Wing vice-president Shibeer Singh, whose name also appeared in the list, was accused of helping another history sheeter escape from police custody, sources said.

On being asked, the state BJP leaders here feigned ignorance about the criminal antecedents of the office bearers of the youth wing. ''The criminal history of the newly appointed office bearers may not have been known to persons who appointed them,'' said a state BJP leader here.