Ghaziabad: 7 get life in jail for murder over cricket match

Police took preventive action and broke up the fight, however, several suspects of Shankar’s group attacked Harish’s house on same evening

A Ghaziabad court on Friday sentenced seven persons, including two women, to life imprisonment for a murder that took place in 2007 following a minor altercation during a cricket match in Hapur district, prosecution officials said.

The incident happened on December 27, 2007, when a fight broke out between two people -- Harish Chand and Ravi Shankar – during a cricket match. (Representational image)

According to the prosecution, the incident happened on December 27, 2007, when a fight broke out between two people -- Harish Chand and Ravi Shankar – during a cricket match.

The police took preventive action (under section 107/116 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPc) and broke up the fight.

Later, several suspects of Shankar’s group, armed with knives, attacked the house of Harish Chand around 6.30pm the same day.

“They led an attack on Chand’s family. During the incident, Chand’s brother Kishan Pal sustained critical injuries and died. Chand, and Shankar’s friend and relative Hari Gopal and Charan Das also suffered severe injuries,” said additional district government counsel Rajesh Sharma.

“In this connection, an FIR was registered against the suspects for murder and rioting and police picked up seven who have now been convicted and awarded life imprisonment by the court on Friday,” the counsel said.

The court, headed by additional sessions judge, Shiv Kumar Tiwary, said, “Dhanpat, Shera, Satish, Kalu, Sundar and (two women) Har Pyari and Santosh Devi, are convicted and awarded life imprisonment under Indian Penal Code section 302 (murder) and penalty of ₹10,000 (each).”

“They will have to go for six months of (additional) imprisonment if they failed to pay the fine,” the court said.

The government counsel said that the incident took place under jurisdiction of Bahadurgarh police station in Hapur district when it was part of Ghaziabad district, hence the trial of the case was conducted at a Ghaziabad court as it started in 2008.

The prosecution said that the seven people were also given seven years of imprisonment for IPC section 307 (attempt to murder) and the sentences would run concurrently.