Two get life sentence for murder over land dispute in 2010

Lucknow: A Sultanpur court has sentenced two brothers to life imprisonment for the murder of a man, Ayodhya Bakhsh Singh, who was shot dead in 2010 during a dispute over alleged encroachment on residential land.District and sessions judge Sunil Kumar on Friday sentenced Girish Kumar Pandey and his brother Satish Pandey to life imprisonment and imposed a combined fine of Rs 1.54 lakh on them.The court directed that ₹1 lakh from the fine should be paid to the victim’s family as compensation.On July 30, 2010, Jitendra Singh, a resident of Nohrepur-Raghunathpur village under the Munshiganj police station area of Amethi, lodged an FIR after the killing of his father.According to the prosecution, Girish Kumar Pandey, a retired head constable, and his family members were allegedly attempting to take possession of a piece of residential land and merge it with their agricultural field. The dispute escalated when the victim’s family objected to the alleged encroachment.The prosecution told the court that Girish Pandey opened fire with his licensed rifle, killing Ayodhya Bakhsh. When his son Ravindra Singh tried to intervene, he was allegedly attacked with the rifle butt and injured.Based on Jitendra Singh’s complaint, police registered a case against Girish Pandey, his brother Satish Pandey and their relative Vineet Pandey under sections related to murder and other offences. After completing the investigation, police filed a charge sheet before the court.A cross-FIR was also registered on behalf of Girish Pandey against the deceased’s sons, Jitendra and Ravindra, alleging an attempt to kill. However, the court acquitted Jitendra and Ravindra in the cross-case for lack of sufficient evidence.The court had convicted Girish and Satish on Wednesday in the murder case and on Friday pronounced the quantum of sentence. Both were ordered to be sent back to jail to serve their life sentences.During the trial, accused Vineet Pandey died, and proceedings against him consequently came to an end.The prosecution examined eight witnesses during the trial. The prosecution was represented by the in charge district govt counsel (criminal), who argued that the testimony of the witnesses and other evidence established the charges against the two surviving accused.After the sentencing, Ravindra Singh, son of the deceased, said his family had finally received justice after 16 years.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Lucknow | Silver Rate in Lucknow | Bank Holidays in Lucknow | Public Holidays in Lucknow | Lucknow AQI | Weather in Lucknow | Petrol Price in Lucknow | Diesel Price in Lucknow | CNG Price in Lucknow | LPG Price in LucknowStay updated with the latest Lucknow news. Download the TOI App.