Main accused jumps parole, key witness’ son seeks security

HISAR: As Sanjeev Kumar, the main accused in Relu Ram Poonia murder case, has jumped parole, son of a key witness in the murder case has urged the Hisar police to provide security to him and his family members.

Former Haryana MLA Relu Ram Poonia and seven other members of his family were murdered by his daughter Sonia and her husband Sanjiv Kumar over a property dispute at their farmhouse at Litani village on the night of August 23, 2001, while they were asleep.

Jitender Poonia, son of Ram Singh Poonia who was a key witness in the case, has now approached the police for security. Ram Singh, who was brother of Relu Ram, had died in a road accident in May 2017.

Uklana SHO Krishan Kumar confirmed that the police received an application from Jitender in this regard. “We have sent two gunmen to his residence.”

Lal Bahadur Khowal, who was Punia family’s counsel, said, “Sanjeev, who was serving life sentence in Kurukshetra jail, had been on parole since May 17 and he was to report back to the prison on May 31. But he has not reported back to the jail.” He said in his letter to the police, Jitender has pointed out that Sanjeev is a hardcore criminal who also tried to flee the Ambala jail earlier by digging a tunnel with the help of other criminals, so he (Sanjeev) can be threat to him and his family members.

THE CASE

Accused Sanjeev and his wife Sonia had killed MLA Poonia, 50, his second wife Krishna, 41, daughter Priyanka, 16, son Sunil, 23, daughter-in-law Shakuntala, 20, grandson Lokesh, 4, and two granddaughters Shivani (2) and Preeti (3 months).

The couple was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by a Hisar court on May 31, 2004. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the Punjab and Haryana high court on April 12, 2005. However, the Supreme Court had again awarded them death sentence on February 2, 2007. Thereafter, Sonia and Sanjeev filed a mercy petition to the President. The then President Pranab Mukherjee rejected their plea. However, the People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) filed a petition with the Supreme Court to withhold the death sentence, citing delay in rejecting the mercy plea, which the court accepted.