Gaya court holds Rocky guilty
GAYA: A court in Gaya on Thursday pronounced Rakesh Ranjan Yadav alias Rocky Yadav, son of a suspended Janata Dal (United) lawmaker Manorama Devi, guilty of shooting 19-year-old Aditya Sachdeva dead in May 2016 for overtaking his car.
Additional district and sessions judge (ADJ) Sachchidanand Singh also convicted Rockey’s father Bindi Yadav, cousin Tenny Yadav and Manorama Devi’s bodyguard Rajesh Kumar in the murder case .
The quantum of punishment will be announced on September 6, the judge said.
Rocky, Tenny and Rajesh have been convicted under Sections 302 (punishment for murder), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Arms Act, which entails death penalty or imprisonment for life.
Apart from this, Kumar has been convicted under Section 217 (public servant disobeying direction of law to save one from punishment) of the IPC.
Yadav has been found guilty under Sections 212 (harbouring offender) and 177 (furnishing false information) of the IPC. Defence counsel Kaesar Sarfuddin said they would challenge the verdict in the high court.
Prosecution lawyer Sartaj Ali Khan said, “We had built a strong case against the accused on the basis of scientific evidences. Besides, we also corroborated circumstantial evidences with the mobile tower locations and proved the charges levelled against the accused. Justice has prevailed.”
Soon after the judge pronounced the verdict, Rocky, Yadav and Manorama Devi broke down in the court. Manorama Devi later told reporters that they would soon move the high court against the order.
Rocky is accused of killing Aditya, son of a businessman, on May 7, 2016 after he was enraged over the school boy’s car overtaking his SUV on the road linking Gaya with Bodh Gaya, some 14 km away, where Sachdeva had gone with his friends to attend a birthday party.