Court awards life term to man for killing friend

A Delhi court has awarded the rigorous life imprisonment to a man for beating to death his estranged friend in 2006.

A Delhi court has awarded the rigorous life imprisonment to a man for beating to death his estranged friend in 2006.

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"I am of the view that the prosecution has left no stone unturned to prove its case against the accused. There is reliable, trustworthy and cogent evidence against him," Additional Sessions Judge S C Rajan said.

The court has also slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 on convict Rakesh Shukla, hailing from Gonda district in Uttar Pradesh, after he was charged with killing his friend, Babloo.

It, however, rejected the prosecutor's plea seeking death penalty for the convict, saying "though the offence was brutal in nature, it did not fell under the category of rarest of rare offence warranting imposition of the extreme penalty." The court relied on the testimonies of eye-witnesses Charan Singh and Ramesh Kumar, who supported the case.

The victim Babloo was with some of his friends on a pavement at Panchkuian Road in New Delhi on the evening of July 12, 2006. The accused, armed with a wooden stick, gave several blows on the head of the victim, killing him on the spot, the prosecution said.

It was alleged that the accused killed Babloo as he was caught in a compromising position with the wife of victim's employer. The motive to kill was clear since Babloo had earlier beaten the accused, who was having an affair with the woman, the court said.