Nikita Tomar murder: 2, including prime accused, found guilty by Haryana court

The quantum of sentence will be pronounced this Friday.

A fast-track court in Haryana's Faridabad on Wednesday convicted Touseef, prime accused in the Nikita Tomar murder case, and his aide Rehaan for conspiracy, kidnapping, and homicide. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced this Friday.

Touseef (R), key accused in the case, and his aide Rehaan (L) were found guilty by the District and Sessions Court in Faridabad on Wednesday. (PTI)

While Touseef and Rehaan have been found guilty by the court, a third accused, Mohammad Azruddin, has been acquitted. Azruddin had allegedly supplied weapons to the other two, news agency ANI reported.

21-year-old Tomar was shot dead in broad daylight by her former classmate outside her college in Faridabad on October 26 last year. The family of the woman linked the killing to the reported cases of 'love jihad'. Tomar's kins claimed that her attacker was infatuated with her while the other accused is his associate.

CCTV camera footage of the incident purportedly shows Touseef and Rehaan trying to force Tomar, a BCom final-year student, into their vehicle when she exits Aggarwal College after writing an exam, the police said. The brutal murder was caught on camera, which showed that the accused, who arrived at the spot in a vehicle, tried to pull Tomar inside, in a possible bid to abduct her. But he was instead met with resistance from the woman, after which the accused shot her.

After the murder, a special investigation team (SIT) was formed on October 27, led by Anil Kumar Yadav, assistant commissioner of police (crime), to probe the case. On November 6, the SIT filed a 700-page charge sheet, listing as many as 60 witnesses, in the murder case. Fingerprints were also matched from three samples — from the car, the pistol, and the woman’s arm.

The charges against the suspects were framed on November 23 and the trial in the case began on December 1.