Man summoned for gun scam probe murdered
BHOPAL/JABALPUR: A junior works manager at Gun Carriage Factory (GCF), Jabalpur, who went missing on January 17 after being summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with a probe, was murdered, the police said on Wednesday. The body of SC Khatua was found on Tuesday evening in the factory area. Police said Khatua left his house on the morning of January 17 but didn’t return, after which his wife Mausami Khatua lodged a missing person report with Ghamapur police station, Jabalpur, on January 18. MUZAFFARNAGAR: A court in Muzaffarnagar on Wednesday held seven people guilty of killing two youths, Sachin and Gaurav, in Kawal village of the district in August 2013 — an incident that was believed to have triggered the Muzaffarnagar riots in September that year, which left more than 60 people dead and displaced about 50,000.
Additional district and sessions judge Himashu Bhatnagar convicted Muzammil, Mujassim, Furkaan, Nadeem, Jahangir, Afzal and Iqbal of the murders in Jansath area on August 27, 2013. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on Friday.
Cousins Sachin and Gaurav were residents of village Malikpura. They were beaten to death by a mob with lathis, bricks and iron rods following a dispute after their bicycle reportedly collided with the motorcycle of a local youth. Another youth, Shahanawaz, also died in the clash.
Later, Gaurav’s father, Ravindra, filed a first information report, accusing Mujassim, Muzammil, Furkaan, Nadeem, Jahangir and Shahnawaz of killing the cousins. The matter was investigated by Sampurnanad Tiwari, an officer from the Special Investigation Cell, formed to probe riot 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 were granted bail, the others have been in prison for the past five years.
The prosecution side produced 10 witnesses before the court while defence lawyers presented six. After hearing both the parties, judge held all the seven accused guilty under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
At the time when the court pronounced its verdict, six accused were present and one of the accused, Muzammil, appeared through video conferencing from the Bulandshahr jail. It is believed that it was after these killings, known as “Kawal murders”, that the communal harmony of the area was shattered. VIJAYAWADA: Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Wednesday launched his party’s campaign for the polls to the Lok Sabha and the Andhra Pradesh assembly from Tirupati, saying the YSRC would fight the polls on its own and was set to oust the state’s ruling TDP. Reddy, who has named his campaign “Sankharavam,” a phrase that stands for the blowing of a conch shell to signal victory, brushed aside speculation that the YSRC may align with the BJP or actor Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party either before or after the elections.