District and Session court Judge Vivek B Sharma sentenced accused Harish Chandra alias Dharma and Girish Chandra to life imprisonment for the murder of Umanand Kukreti, a resident of Chuna-Mehra village in Kotdwar Tehsil.
Kukreti was murdered on March 28, 2012. While the duo was sentenced, two other accused Mohan Dev and Govind Thapa Nepali were acquitted.
District Government councillor (Criminal) KP Dangwal pleaded for the prosecution. The session court found accused Harish Chandra and Girish Chandra guilty of murder, conspiring to murder and destroying evidence.
The judge sentenced both to life imprisonment under Section 302/34 IPC and fined them Rs 40,000 each.According to the prosecution Umanand Kukreti lived in the village with his wife, two children and his father Govind Ram who ran a tea stall.
On the evening of March 28, 2012 Girish Chandra and Raju alias Rajendra reached the tea shop in search of Umanand, while Harish Chandra, Mohan Dev and Nepali waited nearby.The duo offered a drink to Umanand and took him with them after which he did not return home that night. On March 29, his daughter was informed about her father’s body lying at Dhoopani.
The family members found Umanand’s body with an injury on the head. The revenue police sent the body for post mortem examination. The revenue police investigating officer had then found bloodied clothes and an iron rod with blood with Girish Chandra and Harish Chandra.