Agra/Muzaffarnagar: A special SC/ST court in Agra has sentenced two men to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1.7 lakh on each of them for shooting dead a 35-year-old Dalit man in 2012 after he failed to provide directions to a villager’s house.
Special public prosecutor Mrityunjai Singh said the incident took place around 5.30am on Dec 7, 2012, when accused Jasso, Durga, Jitendra and Rahul Kori arrived on two motorcycles at Pappu Ram’s residence in Dawli village under Malpura police station, seeking directions to the house of another villager, Devendra Singh.
Pappu’s son Ajay and nephew Shashi told the court that they had witnessed the shooting and tried to intervene, but the assailants threatened them with weapons before fleeing. Pappu accompanied them to the area where he claimed Devendra’s house was located, but when Devendra was not found and Pappu could not provide the directions they sought, the accused took him near a roadside drain and opened fire, killing him on the spot. Pappu’s brother, Harishchandra, lodged an FIR at Malpura police station the same day, following which three investigating officers took charge of the case.
The court of special judge (SC/ST Act) on Wednesday convicted Jasso and Durga under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with weapons), 302/34 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC and section 3(2)(5) of SC/ST Act.
The court, however, rejected the argument, observing that a witness could not be discarded merely because he was related to the victim, and said “minor contradictions after a long gap were natural, particularly when the witnesses came from a poor and less-educated background”. “The court also directed that 50% of the total fine be paid as compensation to Pappu’s family,” the prosecutor said. The defence argued that the witnesses were the victim’s relatives and that their statements contained contradictions. Jasso was already in judicial custody, while Durga, who was out on bail, was taken into custody after the verdict.