Agra: Nearly 21 years after a 30-year-old man was beaten to death inside a police station in Uttar Pradesh ’s Etah district, a local court on Wednesday sentenced two police officers — one retired and one serving — to life imprisonment and slapped a fine of ₹31,500 on each of the convicts.
The sessions court found retired SI Gajraj Singh and constable Mahavir Singh (now posted as head constable in Hathras) guilty of custodial murder of Mohar Pal alias Pappu in 2005. Two other key accused—then Jaithara police station SHO Manish Yadav and constable Midhaeylal—died in 2024 and 2019, respectively, while the trial was going on. District govt counsel RPS Rathore said the incident dates to Aug 26, 2005, when violence erupted in Baghau village during gram pradhan polls. Evidence presented during the trial established that Pal was alive on the afternoon of Aug 26, after which he disappeared mysteriously while in police custody. Pal’s elder brother Ativir Singh approached court, which ordered registration of an FIR under IPC sections 302 (murder), 342 (wrongful confinement), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 504 (intentional insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
Delivering the judgment, district and sessions judge Rakesh Dhar Dubey observed: “The accused kept Moharpal illegally confined inside the police station, beat him and caused his death, and thereafter attempted to make his body disappear with the intention of destroying evidence. Responding to reports of gunfire, a police team led by SHO Manish Yadav, SI Gajraj Singh and constable Mahavir Singh picked up Mohar Pal and brought him to Jaithara police station. Witnesses testified in court that they saw Gajraj Singh and Mahavir Singh forcibly detaining Pal and beating him severely after hanging him upside down inside the station premises.
Delays in Legal Proceedings Highlighted
The investigation faced significant delays, with the chargesheet only submitted in 2015 after the court intervened. Charges were officially framed in April 2016, marking a critical point in the legal process.