Bihar road rage case: Ex-JD(U) leader’s son Rocky Yadav gets life sentence

Rakesh Ranjan Yadav alias Rocky Yadav, son of a suspended JD(U) lawmaker Manorama Devi, and two others were sentenced on Wednesday to life imprisonment by a Bihar court in connection with the murder of a Class 12 student in a 2016 road rage incident.

Rocky’s cousin Tenny Yadav and Devi’s bodyguard Rajesh Kumar were also awarded life term by additional district and sessions judge Sachchidanand Singh. Rocky’s businessman father Bindeshwari Prasad Yadav, better known as Bindi Yadav, was sentenced to five years in jail for harbouring an offender.

The court also slapped a fine of Rs1 lakh on Rocky, ₹50,000 each on Tenny and Rajesh and ₹10,000 on Bindi. The held that Rocky had killed Aditya Sachdeva after the teen overtook his SUV. Rocky allegedly first fired a warning shot, forcing Sachdeva to stop. He then beat the Class 12 student before shooting him dead. He went missing after the murder and was arrested on May 10 in a factory owned by his father.

Justice served in 16 months

Rocky Yadav has been convicted for killing Class 12 student Aditya Sachdeva on May 7 last year

• May 7, 2016: Aditya Sachdeva, shot dead while he was returning from Bodh Gaya
• May 8: Rampur police lodge FIR in which Bindi Yadav, his son Rocky and nephew Tenny besides Rajesh Kumar, Manorama Devi’s bodyguard, are named accused. Bindi and Rajesh held; pistol used in crime recovered from Bindi’s residence
• May 9: Both Bindi and Rajesh Kumar sent to central jail
• May 10: Rocky arrested
• June 6: Gaya police submit chargesheet
• Oct 19: Patna HC grants bail to Rocky
• Oct 28: SC overturns Patna HC order, cancels bail
• Oct 29: Rocky surrenders in SGaya court, sent to jail
• Nov 21: Charges framed against all the accused
• Dec 19: One of Manorama Devi’s bodyguard deposes
• Jan 6, 2017: Another bodyguard deposes
• Jan 16: Aditya’s father Shyam Sundar Sachdeva deposes
• Jan 30: Aditya’s mother Chanda Sachdeva deposes
• July 12: Aditya’s brother deposes
• Aug 23: SC lawyer Surendra Prasad defends the accused
• Aug 25: Trial court seeks opinions from defence and prosecution
• Aug 31: Trial court convicts Rocky, Bindi, Tenny and Rajesh Kumar
• Sept 6: Trial court awards life term to Rocky Yadav, Tenny and Rajesh Kumar and five-year jail to Bindi Yadav

The court had on August 31 held Rocky, Tenny and Rajesh guilty under Sections 302 (punishment for murder), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Arms Act, which entails death penalty or imprisonment for life. Bindi was found guilty under Sections 212 (harbouring offender) and 177 (furnishing false information) of the Indian Penal Code.

Public prosecutor Sartaj Ali Khan said the court judgment was along expected lines. “The court considered our arguments based on scientific and circumstantial evidences. We focused on only two vital points after eyewitnesses had turned hostile in the trial court. But the police chargesheet and evidences collected in course of investigation substantiated charges levelled against the accused.”

Relieved that they had finally got “justice”, Aditya’s parents said the court judgment would make people think twice before taking the law in their hands.

“The verdict will send a strong message to the society. We are satisfied over the judgment as we have finally got justice. Although my son will never return, but we are happy we could ensure justice to him. We are grateful to Gaya police, Bihar government and media for their support,” said Aditya’s father Shyam Sundar Sachdeva Sachdeva.

He was accompanied by his wife Chanda Sachdeva, who held a framed picture of her son and could not control her tears after the court pronounced its ruling.