E-Paper
Nikita Tomar murder: Court gives life imprisonment to both stalkers
Gurugram A fast-track court in Faridabad on Friday sentenced two men to life imprisonment and fined them ₹20,000 in the Nikita Tomar murder case that shocked the national capital region in October last year
Gurugram A fast-track court in Faridabad on Friday sentenced two men to life imprisonment and fined them ₹20,000 in the Nikita Tomar murder case that shocked the national capital region in October last year.
Tauseef, who had been stalking the 21-year-old Tomar and shot her at point blank range, and his associate Rehaan were held guilty of murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and under sections of the Arms Act by additional sessions judge Sartaj Baswana on Wednesday.
A large number of city residents, activists and family members of the victim packed the district court in Faridabad before the verdict was pronounced around 3.45pm. Under the Arms Act the men were given four years of imprisonment that will run concurrent with the life sentence, said Adal Singh Rawat, counsel for the victim’s family.
“We will file a petition in the high court seeking death penalty for the brutal murder of Nikita. We respect the verdict of the court but after going through the judgement, we will approach the high court for justice,” said Rawat.
Tomar was shot dead on October 26 outside her college in Ballabhgarh town of Faridabad by Tauseef, when he failed to abduct her along with his accomplice Rehaan, who drove the getaway car after the murder was committed, said police. The crime committed in broad daylight brought women’s safety in sharp focus and led to protests across Haryana. Faridabad police constituted a special investigation team and a charge sheet was filed within 11 days of the murder. The court sentenced the accused exactly five months after the incident.
The father of the victim, Moolraj Tomar, expressed disappointment over the quantum of punishment.
“We will approach the higher courts and seek death penalty for the convicts. We respect the court but will challenge the verdict,” he said.
The family of the victim and its lawyers acknowledged that the speedy investigation conducted by Faridabad police and regular hearings in the fast-track court helped secure the conviction of the two accused.
Sanjiv Singh Rao, senior counsel, said footage recovered from the place of occurrence and from a toll plaza nearby played a crucial role in identifying the perpetrators.
“The phone call records of the accused helped in establishing that they were roaming around the college in Ballabhgarh and planning the crime for almost four days prior to the incident. The footage showed how the duo acted in tandem, helped each other and escaped after committing the grisly crime,” he said.
Faridabad police on Friday preferred not to comment on the matter. A police spokesperson said the department did not want to comment on a court order. However, the Faridabad police did post a tweet saying, “Faridabad police #avengers end game for the killers of #NikitaTomar. Handed down life imprisonment for the cowardly act”.
The defence counsel, however, maintained that this case did not come under the purview of capital punishment as it was not in the rarest of the rare category.
“This case does not fall in the rarest of the rare category. Our submission was that the accused are medical students, have no previous convictions. The death was caused by a single bullet injury,” said Anees Khan, the defence counsel.
