Ayodhya MLA Abhay Singh has been acquitted in the 2002 Nadesar shootout case due to insufficient evidence, bringing a close to the long-standing legal battle involving former MP Dhananjay Singh.
Key Points
- Ayodhya MLA Abhay Singh and five others were acquitted in the 2002 Nadesar shootout case due to lack of sufficient evidence.
- The case involved an attack on former Jaunpur MP Dhananjay Singh, who sustained injuries along with his gunner and driver.
- The special MP-MLA court cited the benefit of the doubt while acquitting all the accused in the 24-year-old case.
- Abhay Singh, who was elected MLA in 2022 on a Samajwadi Party ticket, was later expelled from the party.
A special MP-MLA court on Wednesday acquitted all six accused, including Ayodhya MLA Abhay Singh and MLC Vineet Singh, in a 24-year-old Nadesar shootout case involving former Jaunpur MP Dhananjay Singh.
Dhananjay, his gunner Vasudev Pandey, and driver Dinesh Kumar Gupta were injured in the 2002 attack.
Special Judge Yajurvendra Vikram Singh acquitted the accused, citing insufficient evidence and granting them the benefit of doubt.
The court also acquitted Sanjay Singh Raghuvanshi, Satyendra alias Bablu Singh, Sandeep Singh alias Pappu, and Vinod Singh.
Abhay Singh was elected MLA in 2022 on a Samajwadi Party ticket.
He was expelled by the party in 2025 for anti-party activities.
Details of the 2002 Nadesar Shootout
According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on October 4, 2002, in the Nadesar area.
Dhananjay, then an MLA, was returning to Jaunpur from Varanasi in a car when the accused intercepted him near Taksal Cinema. The attackers allegedly opened indiscriminate fire with the intent to kill.
Dhananjay's gunner returned fire in self-defence.
The assailants reportedly fled the scene after police arrived.
After Dhananjay lodged a named FIR at the Cantt police station, the police filed the chargesheet against the six individuals on December 14, 2002.
© 2026