Mathura: Mathura Court in Uttar Pradesh convicted eleven policemen, who were accused in the murder case of Raja Maan Singh in 1985, the then-titular head of Bharatpur, a princely state in Rajasthan.

Mathura court in Western Uttar Pradesh, where the case had been heard for the last two decades, will pronounce its sentence on Wednesday. The case was first heard in a Rajasthan court but it was shifted to Mathura on instruction from the Supreme Court. It took more than 1,700 hearings and 35 years for a judgment to be pronounced. Among those convicted today was Kan Singh Bhati.

Raja Maan Singh was killed on February 21, 1985 created a political storm in Rajasthan and this caused the resignation of Congress Chief Minister Shiv Charan Mathur two days after the incident.

According to the statement, of Raja Maan Singh’s grandson Dushyant Singh described the events that led to the killing. “In the 1985 Assembly elections Raja Maan Singh was contested as an independent candidate in the Deeg Constituency in Rajasthan, Congress party fielded a retired IAS officer Brijendra Singh as a rival candidate.

“At the time Congress workers insulted the Bharatpur flag on February 20 and this made Raja Man Singh very angry. He drove his jeep into a stage set up for the then chief minister’s rally and damaged a chopper meant to transport the chief minister,” the statement added.

The following day, according to the statement, as Raja Man Singh and two of his associates were going to the local police station to surrender, they were fired upon by a police team led by Deputy Superintendent Kan Singh Bhati. Raja Man Singh and his associates were killed on the spot. Two days after Raja Man Singh’s killing Shiv Charan Mathur, then the Congress Chief Minister, resigned.

Raja Maan Singh’s murder case was handed over to the CBI on February 28, a notification was issued for a CBI inquiry. Incidentally, this case has a connection to the political crisis surrounding the Congress government in Rajasthan. Vishwendra Singh, one of 18 rebel MLAs to side with Sachin Pilot in slugfest with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, is Raja Man Singh’s nephew.