Muslim man acquitted after 18 years in jail shot dead in UP 

Millat Times Desk

11 November 2026 (Publish: 09:48 AM IST)

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A man who spent nearly 18 years in prison on terrorism charges before being acquitted by the Allahabad High Court was shot dead by unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur, months after his release from jail.

Mohammad Sharif, who was acquitted in the 2008 Rampur CRPF Group Centre attack case, was killed on Tuesday in the Khajuria area while returning from a police station. He had sustained multiple bullet injuries and was taken to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Police have launched an investigation and are searching for the attackers.

According to his lawyer, Advocate Mohammad Shoaib, president of the legal aid organisation Rihai Manch, Sharif was shot shortly after leaving the Khajuria police station, where he had been called for verification.

“He had barely travelled 500 metres from the police station when motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire on him, killing him,” Shoaib told Maktoob.

Some eyewitnesses claimed Sharif was hit by 16 bullets, although this figure has not been independently verified.

Shoaib said Sharif’s brother, Shaheen, told the organisation that police personnel had repeatedly contacted Sharif on Monday and asked him to visit the Khajuria police station for verification.

Sharif reached the station at around 4:30 pm. However, SHO Manoj Kumar Pandey and Constable Bunty, who had reportedly called him, were not present.

After waiting for about an hour, Sharif was asked by other personnel at the station to return later, Shoaib said.

He was shot dead shortly after leaving the premises.

Shoaib questioned why Sharif had repeatedly been summoned to the police station, why the officers who called him were absent and how the attackers knew when he was leaving.

“The fact that he was summoned to the police station and shot dead shortly after leaving raises serious suspicions of a conspiracy,” Shoaib said, demanding an impartial investigation.

He also called for an inquiry into any possible involvement of police personnel, stressing that the circumstances surrounding the killing required investigation.

The killing has prompted concern among human rights activists in Uttar Pradesh, who have questioned why Sharif continued to face police scrutiny despite being acquitted of the principal charges by a court.

Rajeev Yadav, general secretary of Rihai Manch, said the incident raised broader questions about the treatment of Muslims accused in terrorism cases, including those subsequently acquitted.

“Even after spending 17 to 18 years in prison and being acquitted by a court, Sharif continued to be treated as a suspect. If the court had acquitted him, what was the need for police verification?” Yadav told Maktoob.

He also questioned how the attackers could have known that Sharif was leaving the police station and called for a thorough investigation.

Yadav referred to the recent death of journalist Parvez Parwaz in Gorakhpur jail, saying Sharif’s killing raised further concerns about the safety and treatment of people caught up in criminal and terror investigations.

Sharif’s killing comes months after the Allahabad High Court overturned the death sentences awarded to four men, including him, in the 2008 Rampur CRPF Group Centre attack case.

In October 2025, a division bench of Justices Siddhartha Varma and Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra acquitted the four men of the principal charges of terrorism and murder. The court also cleared another accused, Jang Bahadur, of the principal charges.

However, the court upheld convictions under Section 25(1-A) of the Arms Act for possession of prohibited weapons. It sentenced the accused to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each.

The court directed that the period already spent in custody be counted towards their sentences, allowing those who had completed their terms to be released.

Sharif walked out of Bareilly Central Jail in November 2025 and returned to his village.

In its judgment, the High Court criticised serious shortcomings in the investigation, saying procedural lapses had weakened the prosecution’s case and prevented it from establishing the principal charges beyond reasonable doubt.

“The defect in investigation struck at the root of the case and ultimately culminated in the acquittal of the accused persons,” the bench observed.

The court identified several problems, including the failure to conduct a Test Identification Parade and inconsistencies in the handling and preservation of physical evidence.

It also questioned whether firearms, cartridges and grenades allegedly recovered during the investigation had been properly secured and whether their chain of custody had been established. Witnesses who could have verified the storage and transfer of the seized material were not examined, the court noted.

The bench said the state government could initiate action against police personnel responsible for the investigative lapses. It also observed that the outcome might have been different had the investigation and prosecution been handled by better-trained personnel.

The attack on the CRPF Group Centre in Rampur took place on the night of December 31, 2007, continuing into the early hours of January 1, 2008. Seven CRPF personnel and a rickshaw puller were killed.

In 2019, a trial court convicted Sharif and the other accused. Four men, including Sharif, were sentenced to death, while Jang Bahadur received a life sentence. The Allahabad High Court later overturned the convictions on the principal charges, citing serious investigative deficiencies.

Yadav said several Muslim youths had been arrested following the attack and questioned the handling of investigations into subsequent bomb blasts in courts across Uttar Pradesh.

He also referred to an explosion in Kanpur in which people allegedly linked to the RSS were killed while making bombs. He said demands for a CBI investigation into these incidents had remained unresolved amid political differences between successive state governments.

Sharif’s killing has now raised fresh questions about his treatment following his acquittal, the circumstances of his final visit to the police station and the identity of those responsible for his murder. Police have yet to establish a motive or identify the attackers.