Muzaffarnagar : A special SC/ST court in Muzaffarnagar sentenced a couple to life imprisonment for murdering a 21-year-old Dalit man after tying him up, beating him with sticks and strangling him with a muffler at their house in Jan 2024. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on Meenakshi and her husband Sonu after finding them guilty in the murder of Ankit, a resident of Jasola village under Khatauli police station.
On Wednesday, Vijay Kumar, the judge of the special SC/ST court, sentenced both Meenakshi and Sonu to life imprisonment and imposed fines of Rs 50,000 each. An FIR was registered at Khatauli police station under IPC section 302 (murder) and provisions of SC/ST Act.
District govt counsel (DGC) Rajeev Sharma said the prosecution established the charges through seven witnesses, including Ankit’s father Raghuvir Singh, brother Lavkush, police personnel and the doctor who conducted the post-mortem. The accused were produced before the court through video conferencing,” Sharma said. The prosecution said Ankit had developed feelings for Meenakshi, which she did not reciprocate, and she feared the situation could affect her marriage.
“The court held the charges proved beyond reasonable doubt. The family went there but received no response, following which police were called and the door was forced open. During the investigation, police recovered broken pieces of Ankit’s mobile phone, blood-stained pieces of a quilt, three strands of hair, two buttons, two dupattas and a rope from the house. It alleged that Meenakshi and Sonu subsequently conspired to kill him. Both were arrested following the murder and sent to jail. Assistant district govt advocate (criminal) Ashish Tyagi represented the prosecution during the trial.