New Delhi: A court in Delhi has sentenced a retired army officer to life imprisonment for murdering a man his divorced wife planned to marry.
Lt. Col. (retired) S J Choudhary, 72, sent a parcel bomb to Krishan Sikand in Delhi on October 2, 1982. The bomb exploded and Sikand, an automobile dealer, died.
Additional Sessions Judge Mamta Sehgal on Saturday held Choudhary guilty under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code as well as Sections III and IV of the Explosives Act. He was also fined Rs.8,000.
The court had on Monday convicted Choudhary. After the arrest and the filing of the charge-sheet, the trial began May 31, 1984 and the process of recording evidence continued for 15 years.
Despite all odds, the victim's 98-year-old father H D Sikand continued to make attempts for a speedier probe.
During the prolonged trial, the family approached the Delhi High Court several times to speed up the proceedings. The case involved documents running into a few thousand pages.
The prosecution had alleged that Chaudhary was angry because his divorced wife had decided to move in with Sikand and the two had planned to get married.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which investigated the case, had alleged that the bomb used in the murder was made in Pakistan and was seized by the Indian Army following its victory in the 1971 war.
The CBI’s lawyer had sought death sentence for Choudhary on the ground that "it was a pre-planned murder of a defenceless person without any provocation."
(With IANS and PTI)
Comments
0 comment