Abetment to suicide case: 4yr jail for Haryana exCPS, 2 others
AMBALA : Additional district and sessions judge Sanjiv Arya on Thursday awarded four-year jail terma to former chief parliamentary secretary (CPS) and Naraingarh MLA Ram Krishan Gujjar and businessmen Ajit Aggarwal and Vijay Aggarwal for abetment to suicide.
Journalist Yashpal Khanna had lodged a complaint in 2009 that his son Pankaj had committed suicide after he was tortured by ex-MLA and 2 traders. The court had held them guilty on February 28.
“All convicts are sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of four years and to pay a fine of ₹10,000 each,” the court order read. The court also directed them to pay compensation of ₹5 lakh each to victim’s mother Usha Rani within a month.
: Additional district and sessions judge Sanjiv Arya on Thursday awarded four-year jail terma to former chief parliamentary secretary (CPS) and Naraingarh MLA Ram Krishan Gujjar and businessmen Ajit Aggarwal and Vijay Aggarwal for abetment to suicide.
The court had held them guilty on February 28.
“All convicts are sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of four years and to pay a fine of ₹10,000 each,” the court order read, adding that they are also directed to pay compensation of ₹5 lakh each to the victim of the crime, Usha Rani (mother of the deceased) under Section 357 (3) of CrPC within a period of one month.
Earlier, statements of all convicts on the question of quantum were recorded separately and the statement of mother of the victim was also recorded.
Before pronouncement of the orders, the judicial complex was jam-packed and the security forces faced a difficult time keeping the Congress leader’s supporters, relatives and party workers away from the court room.
Following the conviction, a pall of gloom descended among the party workers. Ram Krishan had remained the MLA for two consecutive terms (2004 and 2009) and his father Lal Singh was a popular party leader and a four-time MLA. Lal Singh was a minister during the Bhajan Lal government.
Naraingarh-based journalist Yash Pal Khanna had lodged a complaint on June 10, 2009 that his son Pankaj Khanna (22) had committed the suicide after he was allegedly tortured and harassed by the two businessmen and the MLA. He alleged that the suicide note that was recovered after Pankaj’s death had named all the three persons and that his son had also given a statement in the civil hospital before he was shifted to PGI, where he died.
He had alleged that his son was subjected to third degrees torture at the instance of the trio and false cases were slapped against him. Yash Pal had alleged that the MLA was irked as his son, who was also a journalist, had written against the MLA in a magazine.
The trio was booked under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) and 34 (common intension) of Indian Penal Code (IPC). The Congress leader was brought to court from the central jail amid tight security.
After Pankaj’s death, there were wide spread protests in Naraingarh, following which the police booked the trio. Yash Pal Khanna died during the trial.
Complainant’s counsel Anil Kaushik had pleaded for maximum punishment of 10 years and adequate compensation to the victim’s mother.