Srinagar- A court in Kupwara on Saturday awarded life imprisonment to a person for murdering a man with whom he was under “trust relation”.
The Principal District and Sessions Judge Kupwara Shazia Tabasum also imposed Rs one lakh fine on the person— Sajad Ahmad Sheikh, nearly a week after convicting him for the murder of Mohammad Ashraf Lone son of Ghulam Nabi Lone of Alachizab Kupwara on 8 August 2010.
Lone’s body had been recovered from a paddy field near Machergund Nalla, Sogam Kupwara.
“The case unfolds that yet another human life suffered homicidal death on 08.08.2010 for the greed, which made a family to lose its sole earning source. A wife lost her husband, children lost their loving father, as gets reflected from the prosecution case in terms of the final report, which came to be laid before this Court on 20.10.2010,” the court said while convicting Sheikh for murdering Lone by “giving a blow on his head with a Danda and inflicting two blows of knife on his abdomen”. According to a witness, Lone was carrying Rs. 20,000 which he had borrowed from him and Rs. 10,000 of his own as was stated by the deceased to him.
“I am of the opinion that the circumstances pitted by the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused are established beyond reasonable doubt and all the circumstances unerringly point towards the guilt of the accused and the circumstances taken cumulatively form a complete chain,” the court said, adding, “there is no escape from the conclusion that the homicidal death of the deceased Mohd Ashraf Lone……was committed on 08.08.2010 by accused Sajad Ahmad Sheikh….in Machergund Forests and after committing the murder left the dead body and threw the weapon of offence – knife in the Nalla, which was afterwards recovered upon the disclosure statement of the accused.”
Subsequently, the court sentenced the convict to undergo imprisonment for life for the commission of offence under Section 302 RPC and a fine of Rs. 1 lakh. “In case of default of payment of fine the Convict shall further undergo sentence of hard labour until the fine amount is satisfied,” the court said, adding, “The amount of fine, if realized shall go to the victim family of the deceased.”
Earlier, prosecution said the Sheikh was under trust relation with Lone but he made breach of that trust relation and as such maximum punishment be awarded to him.
On the other hand, defence counsel sought life imprisonment, contending that the convict is of the age group of 30 years and has suffered an incarceration of over 14 years.
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