E-Paper
Three get life-term for murdering rickshaw puller in Chandigarh
On October 1, 2017, the accused assaulted the rickshaw puller with sticks, following which he was rushed to ESI hospital in Ram Darbar from where he was referred to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, Chandigarh.
Three men were awarded life-term for the murder of a rickshaw puller near the roundabout of Industrial Area I and II in 2017.
The trio has been identified as Kallu, Sunny and Kamlesh alias Rakesh Sharma -- all residents of Sanjay Colony. They had attacked the victim, Sunil Kumar of Sanjay Colony, with sticks on October 1, 2017, leading to his death nine days later.
The court of additional district and sessions judge, Narender, while pronouncing the sentence said, “There can be no leniency in case of murder. There is a need for people to control their anger.”
The court has also imposed a fine of ₹25,000 on each of the convicts.
Victim had told family about attack
The victim’s wife, Sangeeta had told the police that her husband, who was a rickshaw-puller, used to park the three-wheeler at a stand near Tribune Chowk, along with the accused.
On October 1, 2017, the accused assaulted him with sticks, following which he was rushed to ESI hospital in Ram Darbar from where he was referred to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, Chandigarh.
Police could not record his statement at the time as he was not medically fit. On October 3, the family members forcibly took him home from the hospital.
Sangeeta said that on the way back home, her husband had narrated the entire incident to the family and also named the accused.
On October 6, Sunil’s condition deteriorated and the family had to rush him to a hospital in Panchkula, from where he was again referred to GMCH, Sector 32, where he succumbed to his injuries on October 10. The family was told that Sunil died of a cardiac arrest but his wife urged the police to look into it. On her complaint, a case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Industrial Area police station.
Eyewitness, medical reports helped nail accused
Even though the defence counsel had tried to pin the blame on Sunil’s alcoholism, the statement of an eyewitness and the medical report helped prove the trio guilty. Sangeeta had told the police that her husband was a habitual drinker and his hands as well as legs used to tremble. The defence had claimed that the head injury may have been caused due to a fall.
The prosecution then produced an eyewitness, who also used to park his rickshaw at the same stand. The eyewitness testified before the court that the trio had assaulted Sunil on October 1. Even the medical records stated that Sunil had died as a result of his head injury.
