In re-trial, 3 get life sentence for murders

The Delhi High Court reopened the trial of three accused of murdering a senior citizen and his son in Chittranjan Park in 2000, only leading to their re-conviction in the case with the sentence of life imprisonment. Sumit Saxena reports.

The Delhi High Court reopened the trial of three accused of murdering a senior citizen and his son in Chittranjan Park in 2000, only leading to their re-conviction in the case with the sentence of life imprisonment.

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Zahoor Alam, Pankaj Biswas and Vishwajeet Dass were caught red handed for the cold-blooded murders of Siddhartha Mukhopadhaya (58) and his son Summaya Mukherjee (26) in October 2000.

Responding to an alarm by the area security guard, a police team headed by former SHO Chittranjan Park police station Harcharan Verma had apprehended all the three accused from the victims’ house. The police had also seized the murder weapon from the three accused.

Police said the accused had barged in the house with a motive to loot and the victims were murdered for resisting their attempt.

Mukhopadhaya’s younger son Sujoy Mukherjee was also a witness to the arrest of all the accused. A trial court convicted the accused in September 2004.

The HC upheld the contention of the accused stating that the trial court did not record the statement of one Lal Mohan, a key witness in the defence of the accused.

The High Court revived the proceedings with directions that the trial court expeditiously complete further proceedings after examining Lal Mohan, if his whereabouts can be located and re-decide the case.

The court noted that Mohan, a scrap dealer, never said anything favouring the accused. He denied the claim that the three accused worked with him as scrap dealers.

“I fail to understand for what purpose the accused examined this witness. It isn't a case in which the accused were named due to rivalry. They were apprehended on the spot with deadly weapons. Their clothes were stained in blood,” said Sanjiv Jain, Special Judge NDPS.

“The motive was to commit dacoity and murder,” the judge added.