The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday arrested two persons, including a cousin of former Uttar Pradesh minister Amarmani Tripathi, in connection with the murder of poetess Madhumita Shukla.

CBI sources said Santosh Rai and Rohit Chaturvedi were picked up from Lucknow in the afternoon and questioned. Chaturvedi is Tripathi's cousin while Rai is a small-time politician.

Police would produce both before a magistrate in Lucknow on Friday and seek their remand.