Latest news with #302
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Time of India
7 from woman's family jailed for life for killing hubby's dad in honour attack
Agra: A Muzaffarnagar court has sentenced seven members of a woman's family to life imprisonment for killing the father of the man she eloped with and married against their wishes. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now District govt counsel Rajeev Sharma said the murder, which took place in 2023, was an act of . Sharma said the incident occurred in March 2023 in Rasoolpur Garhi village under Meerapur police station limits. The victim, 50-year-old Onkar Kumar, was attacked at his residence by Prince Kumar—the woman's brother—along with his uncle and other relatives. Following the murder, Onkar's younger son, Sachin Kumar, filed a complaint with police. "Ankit left the village about three years ago with Prince's sister, after which both of them got married in court. After hearing about the move, Prince and his family members set fire to our house. After this, both families reached a compromise. However, Prince, his uncle Pramod, and Pramod's two sons, Deepak and Ankur, held a grudge against our family," he said. Sachin said the next attack took place on the night of March 3, 2023. "Around 8.30 pm, Prince and six others entered the house armed with weapons and started beating my father. Pramod and Deepak caught hold of him, and Prince took out a pistol and shot him. The others kept firing and spreading terror. When I tried to save my father, Prince also fired at me, but I survived. My father died on the spot," he said. Based on the complaint, police registered a case under IPC Section 302 (murder) against the seven accused. All were arrested and later charge-sheeted. "After examining all the evidence and witnesses, the court on Tuesday sentenced the seven convicts to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹17,000 each," Sharma said.
Indian Express
27-05-2025
- Indian Express
High Court acquits 2 in 2017 Sonipat rape and murder case, says evidence falls short
In a significant ruling, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday acquitted two men in a 2017 case involving the abduction, gangrape, and murder of a 19-year-old woman from Sonipat, citing insufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. A division bench of Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill and Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi set aside the conviction and sentence delivered by a Sonipat trial court on December 19, 2022. The case began with an FIR registered on May 11, 2017, under Section 365 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with kidnapping or abducting someone with the intent to secretly and wrongfully confine them. That same day, the woman's decomposed body was found in Parsvnath City, Rohtak. As the investigation progressed, several other charges, such as IPC Section 302 (Punishment for murder) and Section 376-A(d)/34 (Gangrape, read with common intention), were added to the case. The 59-page judgment authored by Justice Bedi noted that 'there is some suspicion regarding the accused having committed the offence. However, the chain of circumstantial evidence available on record is not so complete as to conclusively and unerringly point towards the guilt of the accused'. The court said that while the crime was brutal, the prosecution failed to meet the legal threshold required for conviction. According to the prosecution, the victim had been harassed by a neighbour and was abducted at gunpoint on May 9, 2017. It was alleged that she was drugged, gangraped, and then murdered using bricks. The post-mortem confirmed death due to head injuries, with injuries suggesting possible sexual assault. However, no seminal fluid was found due to decomposition. The prosecution relied on the recovery of bloodstained bricks and clothes, call detail records (CDRs) showing frequent contact between the accused and the victim, and disclosure statements. But the court found several gaps. On the recovery of bricks, Justice Bedi noted: 'At best, it would suggest that the accused persons knew where the weapon of offence was kept. No presumption can be drawn of the accused having committed the offence with the said weapons.' The court also flagged issues in how the forensic samples were handled. 'There is no link evidence as to how the shirt and trousers recovered on disclosure reached the FSL, Madhuban,' it said. The CDRs showed over 500 calls made by one accused to the victim in the month before her death, and 56 calls made by her to him. However, the court said call records alone were not enough to establish guilt. It cited a 2004 Supreme Court ruling (N.J. Suraj vs State), which held that a motive is not sufficient unless the evidence leads to an irresistible conclusion of guilt. Further doubts were raised by the absence of eyewitnesses, a key prosecution witness turning hostile, and CCTV footage failing to identify anyone in the car. On the DNA evidence, the court said that it 'is in the nature of opinion evidence… mere exhibiting a document would not prove its contents,' referring to Rahul v. State of Delhi (2023). Allowing the appeal, the bench ruled: 'We find considerable merit in the present appeal. The impugned judgment is set aside and the accused/appellants are acquitted of the charges framed against them.'
The Star
27-05-2025
- The Star
Cop awaiting sentencing found dead in cell at Perlis prison
KANGAR: A police officer in custody was found dead at the Perlis Correctional Centre in Guar Nangka on Monday (May 26), Sinar Harian reports. Arau OCPD Supt Ahmad Mohsin Md Rodi told the Malay language daily that the death was reported to the police by staff at Hospital Tuanku Fauziah at 5:25pm Monday. "An officer on duty at the Arau district police headquarters received a call from Hospital Tuanku Fauziah, Kangar, informing them that an inmate from the Perlis Correctional Centre had passed away," he said. He explained that preliminary investigations revealed the deceased, aged 28 from Terengganu, was an officer from the Perlis contingent police headquarters, who had been detained under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder. "The deceased had been held at the Perlis Correctional Centre, Guar Nangka since March 17, 2023, and was awaiting sentencing by the Kangar High Court. "On Monday, at around 8am, the deceased was instructed to be taken to the Kangar Magistrate's Court for a hearing, but he refused to attend," he told Sinar Harian. Supt Ahmad Mohsin clarified that the deceased was visited hourly by the warden on duty and was observed to be sitting quietly or lying on his bed. "Then, at around 4:30pm, the warden making the rounds tried to wake the deceased, who was thought to be sleeping, but found that he was no longer moving and immediately instructed that he be taken to the hospital. "At approximately 5:10pm, the hospital confirmed that the deceased had arrived in a 'Brought In Dead' (BID) condition," he said. Further investigation revealed that the deceased was placed in Blok Damai, Perlis Correctional Centre, with two other inmates. "The deceased also had a psychiatric record that had been referred to several hospitals since 2017. "Preliminary investigations by the investigating officer found no criminal elements against the deceased that could point to a cause of death," he said. The body was then taken to the Forensic Department at Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital, Alor Setar, for an autopsy on Tuesday (May 27) to determine the exact cause of death. According to Ahmad Mohsin, the body is expected to be transported back and buried in his hometown in Setiu, Terengganu, upon completion of the autopsy process.
The Star
27-05-2025
- The Star
10 years' jail for ex-lecturer
SEREMBAN: A former lecturer, initially accused of murder, was sentenced to 10 years' jail after she pleaded guilty to causing the death of her husband. Lau Seck Yan, 58, made the plea after the Attorney General's Chambers accepted a representation filed by the defence to review the original charge. Lau, who was originally charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murdering her 55-year-old husband Poh Seng Hiap, is now convicted by the High Court here under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. She was first charged on Jan 28, 2022. Lau, who contested as an Independent candidate in the 2018 Port Dickson by-election, allegedly committed the offence at their home at the Rasah Kemayan Golf and Country Township near here between 3.30pm and 4.30pm on Jan 23, 2022. Poh, an accountant, was reportedly stabbed in the chest and abdomen. Earlier, her counsel Kitson Foong told High Court judge Rohani Ismail that Lau was remorseful and regretted the incident. 'It was a tragedy which unfolded from a disagreement between a husband and wife and escalated into a fight. 'My client has had a chance to reflect on this while she was in prison for the past three years. 'All she wants is to be able to go home to her four daughters and an 88-year-old father,' he said. Foong said Lau had also been active in doing social work, being a president of a Buddhist association. This was also the first time she had run afoul of the law. Deputy public prosecutor Khairunnisa Hazwani Omar prosecuted.
New Indian Express
26-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Former Andhra Pradesh MLA, brother booked for double murder
GUNTUR: The gruesome murder of two TDP workers in Palnadu district has taken a political turn with police naming former Macherla MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy and his brother Pinnelli Venkatarami Reddy as accused in the case. The victims, Javvishetty Venkateswarlu alias Moddayya, and his brother Koteswara Rao from Gundlapadu village, were killed on Saturday evening near Bodilaveedu in Veldurthi mandal. They were returning from a wedding in Telangana when a Scorpio reportedly rammed into their bike, and dragged them along the road. Witnesses alleged that after noticing one of them was still alive, the assailants fatally struck him with a stone before fleeing, leaving the vehicle behind. Police have registered a case under IPC Section 302, and named seven accused, including the Pinnelli brothers, in the FIR. However, the naming of two YSRCP leaders in the FIR in what was initially suspected to be a TDP internal feud, has triggered a backlash.
