Two get life term for abducting and murdering man in Pataudi

On August 4, 2015, Ghansham, a resident of Janaula, had filed a police complaint at the Haily Mandi police post, stating that his brother, Sundar, had gone missing and he suspected that he had been abducted and killed by Rajneesh and Krishan.

A city court on Thursday sentenced two men to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹63,000 each for murdering a man after abducting him in Pataudi in 2015. Ram Rattan alias Rajneesh, 38, a resident of Jaidev Colony, Haily Mandi, and Krishan alias Kalia, 29, from village Rampur, were held guilty of the offence under sections 302, 201 and 34 of the IPC and Section 25 of The Arms Act.

Two get life term for abducting and murdering man in Pataudi (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

On August 4, 2015, Ghansham, a resident of Janaula, had filed a police complaint at the Haily Mandi police post, stating that his brother, Sundar, had gone missing and he suspected that he had been abducted and killed by Rajneesh and Krishan. In the police complaint, he had stated, “On August 3, my brother, Sunder, had gone from home at 3 pm and he did not return during the night. His phone was found switched off. The same morning Rajneesh had come to Sunder’s house. I suspect both Rajneesh and Kalia have abducted my brother with the intention of killing him[sic].”

The dead body of the victim was recovered eight days later. The police arrested the two accused and recovered country-made pistols from their possession. In the disclosure statement, Rajneesh had said that they had called Sunder to have a meal and later shot him dead in a vehicle at a farmhouse. The accused men had thrown Sunder’s phone in a pond in village Rampur. The dead body was also thrown and covered with fodder.

After the victim’s body was found, the police had added the section of murder. The police had also found that bullets recovered from the body of Sunder were fired from a pistol recovered from accused. After arguments on quantum, the additional sessions judge said the case was not “a rarest of rare case where capital punishment should be awarded”.