AGRA: A court in Agra has sentenced six men to life imprisonment for killing a fellow villager who had refused to vote for their preferred candidate during the panchayat elections in Ladam Mankeda under Malpura police limits on Aug 23, 2005. The court found Jitendra Singh, Bablu Singh, Pawan Singh, Sattoo Singh, Girraj Singh, Govind Singh and Balvir Singh —all in their late 40s — guilty of murdering Dharampal Singh, 35, after he and his brother Dharamveer Singh refused to support the accused’s chosen candidate. Both parties had backed Independent candidates.“They tried to force us to vote for their nominee, but we declined. That angered them,” Dharamveer Singh had told police during the investigation. On the evening of the incident, the accused allegedly attacked the brothers first with sticks and then shot Dharampal during the clash. Dharampal was taken to SN Medical College, where he succumbed to his injuries. Police registered an FIR the next day under IPC sections 147, 148, 149 and 302, along with relevant sections of the Arms Act.The accused were arrested on Sept 15, 2005. Investigating officer NC Gangawar recovered a .315 bore country-made gun and two live bullets from a bajra field on Sept 16 based on Bablu’s disclosure. “He led us to the field and showed us where the weapon was hidden,” Gangawar said. The chargesheet was filed on Sept 30, 2005. During the trial, Balvir Singh pleaded for leniency, saying, “This is my first offence. I have two children and am the sole breadwinner in my family.” The court rejected his plea.After nearly 20 years of proceedings, additional district and sessions judge (Agra) Rajendra Prasad sentenced Jitendra, Bablu, Pawan, Girraj, Govind and Balvir to rigorous life imprisonment. Sattoo Singh died during the trial in 2006. The court also fined each convict Rs 28,500 and warned that failure to pay would lead to an additional three years in prison. Seventy percent of the fine is to be allocated to Dharampal’s family.
