The UP Police have again begun probing the murder case of historysheeter Basant Joshi, whose body was found near Kukrail under Ghazipur police circle on August 15, 2007.

This is the third investigation in the case, which was ordered because the second investigation had found that the accused named in the first investigation was innocent. It had also recommended action against the investigating officer Arun Kumar Dwivedi, at present in-charge of the Ghazipur police station in Lucknow.

The first investigation was carried out by the local police headed by Dwivedi. The team recorded the statements of several people, including a cable operator Shyam Bihari Lal and Naka Hindola resident Rajveer Singh. Shyam Bihari told the police that a contractor Praveen Pathak and his female friend had told him when they visited him on December 8, 2007, that they had killed Joshi over some dispute. He added that the murder was committed at the house of the woman, where Joshi had come to meet her.

Rajveer Singh told the police that on the night of August 14, when he was at a paan shop in Ghazipur area, he saw Joshi and Pathak at the woman’s house, near the shop.

On the basis of these statements, the police arrested Pathak on December 27, 2007. Interestingly, his female friend was not arrested even though, according to the evidence, the murder was committed at her residence.

She, however, moved the High Court, accusing the police of harassing her. Subsequently, the court ordered the Lucknow SP to look into her complaint.

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