By Amita Verma

Lucknow, Nov 9 (IANS): Nidhi Shukla, sister of slain poetess Madhumita Shukla, is all set to contest the upcoming Assembly elections from Mohammadi in Lakhimpur Kheri.

She has applied for a ticket from Congress.

Talking exclusively to IANS, Nidhi Shukla said, "I fought single-handedly for justice for my sister and yet the political system has been favouring the accused. The accused Amar Mani and his wife were given life sentence but have spent most of their time in a Gorakhpur hospital instead of the jail. I have proof to show that they face no restrictions in the hospital and move around freely, meeting people every day."

She further said, "My own life has been destroyed because of this case and I have not been able to make a career for myself. I know that my battle has not ended and now I want to contest elections and become an MLA so that I can take up the matter inside the Assembly."

Nidhi Shukla' sister Madhumita Shukla was shot dead in May 2003 in Lucknow at the behest of then then UP minister Amar Mani Tripathi.

A post-mortem report had revealed that Madhumita was pregnant at the time of her death. The murder case had hit the headlines as Amar Mani was a powerful and influential political leader in the state.

The sensational murder case was investigated by the CBI that nailed Amar Mani Tripathi, his wife Madhu Mani Tripathi and nephew Rohit Chaturvedi.

The three were awarded life sentence by the special court in Dehradun in 2007 and the Nainital High Court upheld the verdict in 2012.

Amar Mani and his wife were subsequently transferred to Gorakhpur jail on request where they are serving their life term.

Recently, Amar Mani moved an application, seeking parole on the ground that he had already served more than a decade in jail.

Incidentally, Amar Mani Tripathi's' son Aman Mani Tripathi is also an independent MLA from Nautanwa and is also accused of killing his wife Sara Singh in 2015. The CBI is investigating the case.