Co-accused’s murder leaves three acquitted in 2007 CRPF camp attack fearing for safety

• Three men acquitted in the 2007 Rampur CRPF camp attack case say Mohammad Shareef’s murder has left them fearing for their safety.

• Shareef, who was released last November after spending 17 years in prison, was shot dead by two unidentified motorcycle-borne attackers.

• His former co-accused and rights group Rihai Manch have called for a thorough investigation into the killing.

The killing of Mohammad Shareef, who was acquitted in the 2007 Rampur CRPF camp attack case after spending 17 years in prison, has unsettled three other men cleared in the same case, leaving them worried about their own safety.

Jung Bahadur, Mohammad Kausar and Gulab Khan said they could not understand why Shareef had been targeted barely a year after his release. As far as they knew, he had no disputes that could explain the attack, they told The Indian Express.

Shareef, 52, was shot on Tuesday by two unidentified men with covered faces who approached him from behind on a motorcycle. His family said he was returning home from a police station when the attackers opened fire. He died from his injuries, while the gunmen escaped.

The Allahabad High Court had acquitted Shareef after he challenged a trial court’s death sentence. He was released in November last year.

He and the three men were among those arrested in connection with the attack on a CRPF camp in Rampur on the night of 31 December 2007. Seven CRPF personnel and a rickshaw-puller were killed, while five others were injured.

Kausar, 58, from Pratapgarh, and Khan, 52, from Bareilly, were acquitted by a Rampur court and released in October 2019. Bahadur, 68, from Moradabad, successfully challenged his life sentence in the Allahabad High Court and was released last November.

For Khan, news of the murder brought fresh anxiety after years spent rebuilding his livelihood. His son showed him a report about the shooting on his phone.

“The news has left us frightened and worried about our own safety,” he said.

Before his arrest, Khan owned a welding shop. After 11 years and eight months in prison, he started a small fabrication business making doors and windows. He now lives with his three children at the family’s ancestral home in Bareilly’s Baheri area.

Khan said local police contact him once or twice a month to ask about his work and movements. He also said he is regularly called to the police station for verification, despite his acquittal, and does not understand why the checks continue.

He maintained that he had not travelled outside Uttar Pradesh since his release.

Kausar, who previously operated an electronics shop from his home, described Shareef’s death as a shock. He now runs a business with his two sons, both in their 20s.

Bahadur also learnt of the shooting through a news report shown to him by his son. He said the circumstances suggested a planned attack and called for investigators to establish the motive.

Before his arrest, Bahadur ran a public call office near his home in Milak Kamru village. He now stays at home and has 10 children.

Human rights organisation Rihai Manch has also demanded a detailed investigation.

Its president, advocate Mohammad Shoaib, said police should examine the family’s claim that Shareef continued to be called to the police station regularly after his acquittal.

Shoaib raised the possibility of a wider conspiracy and urged investigators to examine it thoroughly. The motive for the killing remains unclear.

With agency inputs