A court in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli on Tuesday sentenced 14 people, including former Samajwadi Party district president Ram Pratap Yadav and a dhaba owner Suresh Yadav, to life imprisonment for the 2019 murder of D Pharma student Aditya Pratap Singh alias Ravi following a dispute over payment of a food bill, said Rae Bareli police officials.
District and sessions judge Amit Pal Singh also imposed a cumulative fine of ₹4.90 lakh on the 14 convicts. Two other accused—Ram Krishna Yadav alias RK and Abhitej Singh—were acquitted for lack of evidence.
Police officials said on October 9, 2019, Aditya of Sikandarpur in Maharajganj area went with his friends to Somu Dhaba in Ratapur under Mill Area police station limits.
According to the prosecution and police, an altercation broke out over payment of the bill, following which dhaba owner Suresh Yadav and his associates allegedly assaulted Aditya and his friends inside the establishment. Aditya managed to leave the dhaba on his motorcycle, but the prosecution said some men travelling in two vehicles chased and intercepted him near Hardaspur.
He was allegedly beaten with sticks and iron rods and killed. His body was dumped near Garhi Khas village in Harchandpur area in an alleged bid to make the murder appear to be a road accident.
{{/usCountry}}He was allegedly beaten with sticks and iron rods and killed. His body was dumped near Garhi Khas village in Harchandpur area in an alleged bid to make the murder appear to be a road accident.
{{/usCountry}}Police recovered his body on October 10. His father Pradeep Kumar Singh lodged an FIR at Harchandpur police station, leading to the registration of a case under sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code. During the investigation, police added sections 147, 148, 149, 323 and 120-B of the IPC.
Police arrested Suresh Yadav and six others the following day. Subsequent raids led to the arrest of the remaining accused, including former SP district unit president Ram Pratap Yadav.
Police filed the charge sheet before the court on December 25, 2019, while the first hearing in the district judge’s court took place on January 20, 2020. The trial continued for more than six years before Tuesday’s verdict.
The 14 convicts are Suresh Yadav, Ram Pratap Yadav alias RP Yadav, Ramesh Yadav, Ankit Yadav alias Somu Yadav, Harshit Verma, Lavkush Kumar, Gayabakhsh Singh alias Deepu Singh, Manu Kumar Bari, Vinod Kumar, Sumer alias Ram Sumer, Gharha alias Jharha alias Jaichand alias Jitendra, Saurabh Sharma, Atul Tiwari and Sachin Kumar Soni alias Pawan Soni.
The state government had appointed Suresh Pratap Singh as special public prosecutor for the case. After the verdict, all 14 convicts were taken to the district jail under tight security and underwent medical examination.