GANGSTER BABLOO Srivastava has finally got his first conviction. A fast-track court on Monday sentenced Srivastava and Mumbai-based trader Nitin Shah to life imprisonment for the murder of a Delhi businessman 14 years ago.
Lalit Suneja was shot outside his Shakkarpur residence in East Delhi on August 2, 1992. Srivastava and Shah had plotted Suneja’s murder over a financial dispute with him.
Additional sessions judge Rajinder Kumar also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 each on Srivastava and Shah. Another accused, Manjeet Singh, was acquitted for want of evidence. Two more, Virender Pant and Manoj Dixit, died during the course of the trial.
In a trial that saw several twists (Suneja’s wife Veena turned hostile and another witness went missing), the prosecution's only hope to pin Srivastava was a police complaint Suneja filed days before his murder.
In his complaint with the Nizamudddin police, Suneja had asked for police protection from Srivastava and Shah. The police did not act and two weeks later Suneja was shot.
The court has asked the Delhi Police commissioner to take departmental action against inspector Hanuman Dan, who did not even register an FIR on the complaint.
{{/usCountry}}The court has asked the Delhi Police commissioner to take departmental action against inspector Hanuman Dan, who did not even register an FIR on the complaint.
{{/usCountry}}Srivastava, who was deported from Singapore in 1995, has three more cases of murder and kidnapping against him.