Agra: A Kasganj court has sentenced a 32-year-old man to life imprisonment for bludgeoning a retired additional district magistrate (ADM), Rajendra Kashyap (68), to death after the victim suspected a theft at his guest house.
Kashyap was attacked with a heavy weapon while sleeping at the Kasganj guest house on the night of Jan 20, 2025. Postmortem revealed 11 critical injuries on the body. An FIR was lodged under BNS sections 103(1) ( murder ) and 317 (2) (theft) at Kasganj Kotwali on the complaint of the victim’s son Shubham Kashyap. “Rajendra learned that another employee, Pushpendra, possessed some of the stolen items, and police questioned him on Jan 18. During the trial, the prosecution presented 11 witnesses and 15 documentary pieces of evidence. The court on Tuesday convicted Dharmendra and awarded him life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 60,000 for murder.
Dharmendra Kashyap, a resident of Nagla Kanchan, murdered Rajendra fearing that his role in the theft would be exposed,” Kumar said. ADGC added: “A bloodstained shoe led police to the accused. Call detail records (CDRs) also helped investigators trace Dharmendra. Based on his disclosure, police recovered the crowbar allegedly used in the murder and the stolen battery and inverter.
ADGC Anil Kumar told TOI on Tuesday that during investigation police found that a theft had taken place at the guest house a few days before the murder.
The court also ordered that 75% of the fine amount recovered be paid to the victim’s family as compensation. If the convict fails to pay, they’ll serve an additional six months in prison.