A Bhagalpur court on Tuesday awarded rigorous life imprisonment to Kameshwar Yadav for killing a Muslim shop-owner, in the first of the 27 cases reopened for re-investigation in connection with the Bhagalpur communal riots that claimed over 1,000 lives 18 years ago.

Additional district and sessions Judge SN Mishra pronounced rigorous life term to Kameshwar Yadav on the basis of evidences, court officials told rediff.com.

Last week, the court convicted Yadav and found him guilty under Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 148 (rioting with deadly weapons), 149 (unlawful assembly), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen offender) of IPC and sections of the Arms Act.

The cases were re-opened by the Nitish Kumar government last year after being closed by the police for want of evidence in which judgment had been delivered.

Yadav is the prime accused in a case related to the murder of a shop-owner Munna at Asanandpur in Bhagalpur. Munna was shot by a mob led by Yadav and his body was never recovered. Thirteen witnesses were deposed in the court for the prosecution during the trial and nine for the defence.

Bihar's ruling Janata Dal (U) leaders alleged that Kameshwar Yadav enjoyed good rapport with Railway Minister Lalu Prasad. Yadav, a known Hindu activist in Bhagalpur, led one of the three shila-pujan processions that triggered the Bhagalpur communal riots in 1989.

He was given a citation for maintaining communal harmony by the Bihar police during the RJD rule in 2004.