Follow Us
Muzaffarnagar, February 8
A local court gave seven people life term for the 2013 murder of two youths in Uttar Pradesh Muzaffarnagar that triggered riots.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Himashu Bhatnagar also imposed a fine of Rs 2,12,000 on each of the seven accused—Muzammil, Mujassim, Furkan, Nadeem, Janangir, Afzal and Ikbal— for killing Gaurav and Sachin on August 27, 2013, and rioting.
The court said that 80 per cent of the fine would go to the family of the two men who were killed.
This is the first case out of total 57 in which the seven men were found guilty, district prosecution counsel Rajiv Sharma said.
The court had convicted the accused on Wednesday.
According to the First Information Report, the two youths of Kawal village under Jansath police station area were battered to death by three of the five men.
The two other accused, Afzal and Iqbal, however, were later summoned by the court under provisions of section 319 of the Criminal Procedure Code when the evidence of their complicity in the killings emerged during the trial.
The court convicted the seven after examining 10 prosecution witnesses and six in their defence.
As per official figures, given by prosecution counsel Sharma, over 6,000 cases were lodged following the 2013 riots and 1,480 accused were arrested for their alleged roles in the riots, in which over 60 people were killed and thousands fled their homes in terror.
A special investigation team, which probed the cases, has submitted charge sheets in 175 cases.
Fifty-six of them involving 430 accused resulted in acquittal.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath's government decided earlier this month to withdraw 18 riots-related cases. Agencies
2