Aligarh : A court in Muzaffarnagar on Thursday sentenced four men to death for the 2014 murder of a 30-year-old farmer in Shamli, describing the killing as “cold-blooded”, “brutal” and among the “rarest of rare” cases. additional district and sessions judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar of fast track court-3 said, “The pre-planned attack, in which 15-20 rounds were fired at a helpless victim, was carried out to establish dominance through the use of muscle power and create fear and insecurity in society, thereby posing a direct challenge to the rule of law.” While delivering the judgement.
The death sentences, however, are subject to confirmation by the Allahabad high court (HC) under section 366 of the CrPC. The convicts can appeal before the HC within 30 days, additional district govt counsel (ADGC) Kuldeep Kumar said. The incident took place on July 14, 2014, when four armed men — Ramveer, Rajiv, Rahul and Harendra — entered Pawan Kumar Singh’s house in Bhabhisa village and opened indiscriminate fire over an earlier minor argument with his son, Ashu.
Pawan was killed in the firing, while his relative, Ashok, sustained a gunshot injury.
Finding the four men guilty of Pawan’s murder, the court sentenced them to death under IPC section 302 (murder) read with section 149 (every member of an unlawful assembly guilty of an offence committed in prosecution of the common object). It also imposed a total fine of Rs 3.7 lakh on the convicts, directing that half of the total fine be paid as compensation to the victim’s wife. Apart from the death sentence, the convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment under IPC section 307 for attempting to murder Ashok. They were also awarded sentences under IPC sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon) and 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) and the Criminal Law Amendment Act.
All sentences will run concurrently, the ADGC said.
Vipul was killed in an STF encounter in Baghpat on July 25. The prosecution also relied on medical, forensic, seizure and investigation records, besides the recovery of a country-made .315-bore pistol and cartridges. the prosecution referred to the convicts’ alleged links with gangster Vipul alias Khooni, whom the judgement described as a sharpshooter and contract killer While seeking maximum punishment.