The two homes are a kilometre apart, but what bounds them closer is death — the murders perpetrated by influential politicians.

One is the house of poetess Madhumita Shukla, who was murdered in 2003 by Amar Mani Tripathi, then a BSP minister in UP. The other is the residence of Manoj Gupta, the PWD engineer allegedly murdered by BSP legislator Shekhar Tiwari in Auraiya’s Gail Vihar Colony on December 23.

Madhumita’s house is in Hathipur area in Lakhimpur-Kheri, where her mother and brothers stay. Gupta’s wife Shashi and son IT professional Prateesh Pranjal live in his house opposite the District Hospital in Nai Basti.

Amarmani Tripathi has since joined the Samajwadi Party and is a legislator from Maharajganj constituency. He was given a life sentence by the sessions court for Madhumita’s murder, but has appealed in the Nainital High Court against the judgment.

Tiwari, his wife Madhumani and four of their associates had been arrested for the crime. Only one aide was acquitted.

Despite being neighbours, the members of the two families have never met.

After Gupta’s murder, Nidhi Shukla, Madhumita’s sister, is contemplating meeting the PWD engineer’s bereaved family to

advise them regarding the battle for justice.

“Looking back at my struggle, I know what a mammoth task it is to bring a criminal to book if he is a political leader,” says Nidhi. She had to mount pressure on the authorities to have the case investigated by the CBI. She even had to get the trial transferred from UP to Uttaranchal. “I want all victims with my kind of a predicament to benefit from what this struggle has taught me,” she says.

“In future, I intend to form

an association and a self-help group of victims who could unite and help each other in such difficult battles.”

Gupta’s son Prateesh says he was waiting for the results of police investigation to come in. “The police have assured me that they would help us get justice, but if they fail, I would go all out on my own to fight for it,” says Prateesh. “I know that Nidhi Shukla has been considerably successful in her fight for justice and advice from her is most welcome.”

“I will be visiting the Guptas once politicians stop visiting them,” says Shukla, “political leaders make false promises and can only delay justice.”

She says finds the conduct of the Samajwadi Party hypocritical. “They held dharnas and demonstrations against my sister’s murder, but later admitted the killer in their own party and even gave him the ticket for elections”.

Despite her success so far and Tripathi being behind the bars, Shukla says she has been receiving threats from his associates. She has written to the Director General of Police and the Superintendent of Police of Lakhimpur-Kheri, and the CBI about it.