AGRA: Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) former office-bearer Vinay Varshney, an undertrial lodged in jail for the murder of Mohammad Tariq during a clash that broke out between anti-CAA protesters and the police in Aligarh’s Babri Mandi area in February 2020, filed his nomination papers, through a relative, as an independent candidate from Aligarh (city) on Friday.
Vinay will be taking on BJP’s candidate Mukta Raja, the wife of sitting MLA Sanjeev Raja, who was convicted by Aligarh court for assaulting a policeman in a 22-year old case and later granted bail. Other candidates from Aligarh (city) constituency are — Congress’s Mohammad Salman Imtiaz, who is former president of AMU Students’ Union, Samajwadi Party’s former MLA, Zafar Alam and BSP’s Razia Khan.
Varshney’s brother, Ashwani, who was present at the time of filing nomination, said, "The youths of Aligarh are with my brother and we all will fight the election for him."
On February 23, Tariq (22), was standing on the terrace of his house, when a stray bullet fired during the violence hit him in the stomach. He was immediately taken to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment on March 12.
Vinay was arrested on charges of attempt to murder and after Tariq’s death, the charge was changed to that of murder. Police had recovered the weapon which was used for the crime and it was registered in Vinay’s name. Last year, the Aligarh court framed charges against him and sent him to judicial custody in Etah jail, where he is presently lodged.
