Maid murder case: Court to hear arguments on charges on Feb 22

A Delhi court today fixed February 22 for hearing arguments on framing of charges in a case in which BSP MP Dhananjay Singh and his wife Jagriti Singh were chargesheeted in connection with murder of their maid.
The order was passed by Additional Sessions Judge Lokesh Kumar Sharma in the case in which Jagriti was chargesheeted for various offences under IPC, including sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 344 (wrongfully confining for 10 or more days), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 201 (destruction of evidence).
Dhananjay, a sitting BSP MP from Jaunpur constituency of Uttar Pradesh, was chargesheeted for various offences under IPC, including alleged destruction the evidence and abetment of the offence of murder and attempt to murder.

A magisterial court had on February 4 taken cognisance of the charge sheet filed by the Delhi Police and had transferred the matter to a sessions court here.
Dhananjay and Jagriti, a dental surgeon at a government hospital here, are lodged in jail under judicial custody.
The police, in its chargesheet, has alleged Jagriti used to give "merciless beatings" to her three domestic helps and "compelled" the servants to work by holding them captive.

It has alleged the servants were not allowed to go out of the 175, South Avenue house where the incident took place.
The police have also claimed that Dhananjay and his wife might have "tampered" with the data of the CCTV cameras installed in the house.

The couple were arrested on November 5, last year in connection with the death of their 35-year-old maid Rakhi Bhadra, a resident of West Bengal.
Bhadra's body, with injury marks on her legs, chest and arms, was recovered from Dhananjay's South Avenue residence on the evening of November 4, last year.
Earlier, the police had chargesheeted Dhananjay in a separate case for allegedly repeatedly raping a 42-year-old railway employee for nearly four years.