Seven get life term for double murder before 2013 Muz’nagar riots

MUZAFFARNAGAR: A local court on Friday awarded life imprisonment to all the seven convicts, accused of killing two people in Kawal village, an incident that preceded the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.

The seven convicts -- Muzammil, Mujassim, Furkan, Nadeem, Jahangir, Afzal and Iqbal -- were found guilty of killing Gaurav and Sachin, and rioting in Kawal village on August 27, 2013.

District government counsel (criminal) Rajeev Sharma and senior lawyer Anil Jindal said, “A fine of Rs 2 lakh each has also been imposed on the accused. Besides life imprisonment, they have also been awarded 2 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000 each under section 147 of the IPC (punishment for rioting), 3 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3000 each under section 148 of the IPC (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), and 5 years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5000 each under section 506 of the IPC (punishment for criminal intimidation).”

In all, 80% of the total fine will be given to the families of the deceased Gaurav and Sachin.

After the court decision, Gaurav’s father Ravindra expressed satisfaction and faith in law. On the other hand, parents of the murder accused Muzammil and Mujassim said that they would move the high court against the decision.

Earlier on Wednesday, the court had convicted the seven people in connection with the incident. On August 27, 2013, Sachin and Gaurav, cousins and residents of Malikpura village, were beaten to death by a mob with lathis, bricks and iron rods in the aftermath of a dispute. Reportedly, their bicycle had collided with the motorcycle of a local youth. Another youth, Shahanawaz, also died in the clash.

After this, clashes that broke out in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts of Uttar Pradesh in which 62 people were killed, 93 injured and more than 50,000 rendered homeless.

Gaurav’s father Ravindra filed an FIR with Jansath police, accusing Mujassim, Muzammil, Furkaan, Nadeem, Jahangir and the deceased Shahnawaz of killing the cousins.

The matter was investigated by Sampurnanad Tiwari, an official of the Special Investigation Cell (SIC) formed to probe the cases. Tiwari submitted the charge-sheet against Muzammil, Mujassim ,Furkaan, Jahangir and Nadeem to the court on November 24, 2013. On the basis of evidences and witnesses’ testimonies, the court summoned two more people -- Afzal and Iqbal. While these two got bail from the court, the other five have been in prison for the past five years.