Panchkula court acquits man in 2019 Pinjore murder case

According to the prosecution, Gyan Singh was found dead near a mango tree at around 4.30 am on November 3, 2019. The prosecution alleged that he had been attacked on the head with wooden sticks. A pair of black shoes was recovered from the spot and was claimed to have belonged to Amandeep

A local court on Friday acquitted Amandeep Singh alias Bansi, 27, of Karanpur Taprian village in Pinjore in a 2019 murder case, observing that the prosecution failed to establish a complete chain of circumstantial evidence linking him to the killing.

Holding that the circumstances did not conclusively point towards Amandeep’s guilt and that the chain of evidence was incomplete, the court gave him the benefit of doubt and acquitted him. (HT File)

Sessions judge Sanjay Sandhir pronounced the judgment in the case registered under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Pinjore police station on November 3, 2019. Amandeep was accused of murdering Gyan Singh, 65, at Guggamari in Karanpur Taprian village during the intervening night of November 2 and 3, 2019.

According to the prosecution, Gyan Singh was found dead near a mango tree at around 4.30 am on November 3, 2019. The prosecution alleged that he had been attacked on the head with wooden sticks. A pair of black shoes was recovered from the spot and was claimed to have belonged to Amandeep. The prosecution also relied on his alleged disclosure statement, demarcation of the crime scene and mobile phone tower-location data.

The court noted that Balbir Singh denied that the shoes had been recovered in his presence and said his signatures had been obtained on blank papers. Similarly, Raghubir Singh denied that Amandeep had made the alleged disclosure statement in his presence.

The court further held that mobile tower-location data could establish only the approximate area where the accused’s phone was located and could not conclusively link him to the crime.

The forensic evidence also failed to establish the link. Although human blood of group B was found on the wooden stick pieces and clothes, no evidence established whether it belonged to the accused or the deceased. The court also noted that no samples had been sent for DNA profiling.

Holding that the circumstances did not conclusively point towards Amandeep’s guilt and that the chain of evidence was incomplete, the court gave him the benefit of doubt and acquitted him.