Agra: Rajveer Singh Yadav was never to arrest the police. This was his brother Ramveer that he wanted. But a clerical mistake – a swapped name – brought Rajveer behind bars for 22 days. While the police accepted the error within weeks, the matter was dragged in the court for 17 years, causing their livelihood, education of their children, and peace of their mind. Now at the age of 55, Rajveer has finally been acquitted. On Saturday, a mainpuri court declared Rajveer Singh Yadav innocent and ordered action against the policemen, whose “gross negligence” hurt him for about two decades. Punishment police whose error is kept at cost. I kept insisting that I was not one. But he did not listen. They just picked me up and sent me to jail, “Three daughters and a son’s father Rajveer told TOI on Saturday.” I fought the case for 17 years. At that time, no one knew who had registered a case – they only saw my name and pulled me inside. I could not work. I could not educate my children. I lost everything.”He said: “I somehow managed to marry my daughters. My son had to be taken out. We were destroyed. I just want the officials who did me to be held accountable.The case went back on August 31, 2008, when the Mainpuri police filed an FIR under the provisions of IPC Section 307 (attempt to murder) and four men under the provisions of SC/ST Act, including Manoj Yadav, Pravesh Yadav, Bhola Yadav, and Ramveer Singh Yadav – all were associated with one election from Nagla Bhant village, Menpurri. The Gangster Act was soon added.However, when the gang chart was prepared, the then show of Mainpuri Kotwali, Omprakash made an important error: instead of Ramveer, he listed Rajveer Singh Yadav – Ramveer’s elder brother. The investigation was handed over to sub-inspector Sivasagar Dixit, who was the then Danahar police station, Rajveer’s lawyer Vinod Kumar Yadav said.Rajveer was arrested on 1 December that year. From jail, he gave a petition before the Special Gangster Act court in Agra, stating that he was wrongly nominated. The court called the concerned authorities. On 22 December, Inspector Omprakash admitted before the judge that Rajveer’s name was “mistaken”. The court passed its release order on the same day.Judge Mohammad Iqbal, who was then hearing the cases of the Gangster Act, also wrote to the SSP of Mainpuri, recommending disciplinary action against the wrong police. But despite the admission in the court and the warning of the judge, C Sivasagar Dixit still filed a charge sheet against Rajveer – and the case continued.
