Two sentenced to life in prison for murdering daily wager for Rs. 50,000

The police said that it was a blind case and their only clue was a train ticket recovered from the victim’s pocket.

A city court sentenced two men to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 90,000 each for murdering a man by strangling him and then slitting his throat in January last year, the police said.

A 35-year-old daily wage earner was found from a mustard field in Mandpura village in Haley Mandi, Pataudi. (HT FILE)

On January 25, 2018, the body of a 35-year-old daily wage earner was found from a mustard field in Mandpura village in Haley Mandi, Pataudi. The police had registered a case under sections 302 and 201 of Indian Penal Code against unknown persons at Pataudi police station.

The court of additional district and sessions judge pronounced the sentence on Monday.

The police said that it was a blind case and their only clue was a train ticket recovered from the victim’s pocket. The ticket led the police to Jodhpur, Rajasthan, where the victim, a native of Bhojpur in Bihar, used to stay while working there.

“The convict, Sanjay Dutt, was a neighbour of the deceased. He had hatched a conspiracy to kidnap the victim and demand Rs. 50,000 as ransom to pay a debt. The victim had confided in Dutt about his family’s financial status,” police spokesperson Subhash Boken said.

“He took the victim from Jodhpur to Pataudi, taking a brief detour to Singhana. In Pataudi, Dutt was joined by a friend, Sanjeev. They offered the victim a spiked alcoholic drink and then strangled him with a cable and slit his throat with a blade. They escaped after dumping the body in the field. After killing him, the accused had called the victim’s family demanding the ransom money,” Boken said, adding that since the police had informed the family about the murder, no ransom was paid.

The police said when they had gone to Jodhpur, a relative had informed them of the ransom call.

The convicts were held guilty under IPC sections 302 (murder), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 201 (disappearance of evidence of offence) and 404 (misappropriation of property). All the sentences shall run concurrently.