Five get life term for village head's murder over poll rivalry in UP's Bareilly
A Bareilly court on Tuesday, July 28, sentenced five people, including a woman, to life imprisonment for the 2021 murder of a village head over panchayat election rivalry.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Brijendra Tripathi also imposed a total fine of Rs 3.9 lakh on the convicts, said Additional District Government Counsel (ADGC) Sunil Kumar Pandey.
According to the prosecution, Mohammad Ishaq Ali was elected village head of Pargawan in Bareilly's Cantonment area. The accused allegedly developed enmity with Ishaq Ali after losing the panchayat election and had repeatedly threatened him with dire consequences.
On June 20, 2021, Ishaq Ali, accompanied by his wife Sakina and sister Sheeba Rani, was returning to the village from Bareilly when the accused allegedly intercepted them and opened fire. Ishaq Ali died on the spot, while his wife sustained serious injuries.
Pandey said an FIR was registered at the Cantonment police station under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 504 (intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code.
He said the prosecution examined 14 witnesses during the trial.
According to the prosecution, the court convicted Mohar Singh, Bhagwat Patel, Rahul alias Dhiru and Lokesh Patel under Section 302 read with Section 34 (murder with common intention) and sentenced each of them to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 50,000. They were also awarded 10 years' imprisonment under Section 307 read with Section 34 (attempt to murder with common intention) and seven years' imprisonment under Section 506 (criminal intimidation), besides separate fines.
The fifth convict, Aasiya, was found guilty under Section 302 read with 120B (murder through criminal conspiracy) and 307 read with 120B (attempt to murder through criminal conspiracy) and sentenced to life imprisonment and 10 years' imprisonment, respectively, along with fines.
The court directed that additional imprisonment would follow in case of default in payment of fines, Pandey said.
