Lucknow: A gangster Sanjeev Maheshwari Jiva, believed to be involved in the murder case of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Brahma Dutt Dwivedi, was shot dead in broad daylight Lucknow's Kaiserbagh court in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. The shooter was reported to have arrived in the in the garb of lawyers. Jiva was said to be very close to Mukhtar Ansari.
A former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister, and a senior leader of the BJP Brahm Dutt Dwivedi was shot dead in Farrukhabad district in February 1997. In 2021, gangster Jiva's wife Payal had written to the Chief Justice of India claiming that her husband's life was in danger. She had also contested election on 2017 on RLD ticket but had lost. Reports say Sanjeev Jiva was given access to bullet-proof vest considering a threat to his life but he was not seen wearing it.
Who was Sanjiv Jiva?
Sanjeev Maheshwari, also known as Jiva, was a notorious gangster and a close associate of Mukhtar Ansari. He was accused of being involved in the murders of BJP politicians Brahm Dutt Dwivedi and MLA Krishnanand Rai. Although seven accused, including Mukhtar Ansari, Afzal Ansari, and Jiva, were acquitted by Delhi's special CBI court in the murder case of Krishnanand Rai, Jiva had faced imprisonment in other criminal cases.
In 2017, Jiva was imprisoned in Lucknow jail for his involvement in the murder case of businessman Amit Dixit, also known as Goldie. After investigation, the court sentenced Jiva and four other accused to life imprisonment for the crime.
Jiva gained notoriety in the 1990s for his criminal activities, which made him a known figure among the public and law enforcement authorities. In 2022, he was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police for possession of an AK-47 rifle and approximately 1,300 cartridges. Originally from Muzaffarnagar, Jiva had previously worked as a compounder in a dispensary. During that period, he had kidnapped the dispensary owner and demanded a large sum of money. Subsequently, he continued to commit several other crimes.
