Three get life term for murder, rioting in 2016 Jat quota agitation
Pawan, Daljeet and Surender Jhinda were also convicted of attempt to murder, robbery and under the Arms Act
A court in Haryana’s Hisar on Wednesday sentenced three men to life imprisonment after finding them guilty of killing a person and destroying private properties during the 2016 Jat agitation for reservation in jobs and employment.
The agitation paralysed Haryana, hit water supplies to Delhi’s and left 16 people dead and over 150 injured.
Pawan, Daljeet and Surender Jhinda were convicted of rioting, murder, attempt to murder and robbery under the Arms Act.
The court said the three formed “an unlawful assembly in shape of a mob in a planned manner under the garb of Jat Arakshan [reservation] and committed arson, dacoity in Dhani Pal area”. It said they set houses and vehicles afire and shot several people. Mintu Gurjar, 24, was shot dead in the mob attack when he had rushed to Dhani Pal to inquire about a relative after learning about attacks on the colony.
The three pleaded for leniency saying they belonged to poor families and were their sole breadwinners as additional sessions judge DR Chalia gave them an opportunity to speak before announcing their quantum of sentence. Chalia said the convicts “do not deserve even the least of sympathy” in terms of quantum of sentence keeping in view the totality of facts and circumstances, especially the nature of offences”.
The court cited a Supreme Court order and said the life terms for the three meant imprisonment for life until the convicts are alive. It also slapped a ₹17,500 fine each on the three convicts.