Gautam Budh Nagar: Six get life imprisonment for Samajwadi Party leader’s murder

Ramtek was overseeing the construction of his house when some people arrived in a Maruti Alto car and a motorcycle and shot him

An additional sessions court in Gautam Budh Nagar on Monday convicted six people of the murder of a Samajwadi Party leader in Dadri on May 31, 2019, and sentenced them to life imprisonment, officers aware of the matter said.

Ramtek’s brother Praveen Katariya had lodged the complaint in this case at the Dadri police station on May 31, 2019. (Representational image)

Ramtek Katariya, who was 32 years old and the president of the Samajwadi Party’s Dadri assembly segment, was killed by the convicts near his residence. Katariya and the convicts were distant relatives who lived in the same neighbourhood, according to police.

According to Nitin Tyagi, additional district government counsel (ADGC) in the case, Ramtek’s brother Praveen Katariya had lodged the complaint in this case at the Dadri police station on May 31, 2019.

According to the complaint, Ramtek was overseeing the construction of his house when some people arrived in a Maruti Alto car and a motorcycle and shot him. “My brother collapsed in a pool of blood. I ran to the spot on hearing the gunshots and saw the suspects fleeing. Ramtek was taken to a private hospital in Ghaziabad where doctors pronounced him dead,” the complaint said.

Praveen named six individuals in his complaint — their relatives Baleshwar Katariya, 50, Krishna, 30, Chandrapal, 50, and Nitesh, 28, all known by one name, Kapil Katariya, 40, and Annu Katariya, 35.

Police registered a first information report, arrested the suspects, and seized two firearms and four live bullets from their possession on June 1, 2019. The suspects were remanded to judicial custody.

Bhag Singh Bhati, the second ADGC in the case, said, “During the investigation, the names of three others — Abhay Katariya, 40, Jai Bhagwan, 54, and Sumit (one name), 32, also came to light and police arrested them.”

Police filed a charge sheet on September 2, 2019, following which the case was admitted to trial. The prosecution presented witnesses such as Ramtek’s family members, police, and doctors in the case, said Bhati.

Praveen testified in court that the convicts had a grudge against his family. “On January 6, 2019, the body of Baleshwar’s brother Ramesh was found on the railway tracks in Aligarh. Baleshwar had blamed Ramtek and lodged an FIR against him. However, no evidence was found against Ramtek, and police closed that case. Baleshwar and his relatives harboured grudges and they killed Ramtek,” he told the court.

Chaudhury Hariraj Singh, the convicts’ lawyer, told the court that there was insufficient evidence against them and they should be acquitted.

Rajvijay Pratap Singh, an additional district sessions judge, relied on the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses and convicted six people while acquitting three. “They are convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and fined ₹30,000 each,” the court said.

Abhay Katariya, Jai Bhagwan, and Sumit were acquitted due to lack of evidence, the court order said.