20 yrs after he killed Dalit acquaintance for Rs 500, man gets life in jail

Agra: Nearly two decades after a 44-year-old Dalit man was murdered over a ₹500 dispute, a special SC/ST court in Aligarh has sentenced the perpetrator to life imprisonment. The convict, 65-year-old Bablu Prasad, was also ordered to pay a fine of ₹1.05 lakh by the court.Senior public prosecutor (SPO) Satyananad Singh on Friday said the incident occurred on Jan 7, 2007. According to the prosecution, Prasad took the victim, Tej Singh, a resident of Ishanpur, to Hajipur village. The two men consumed alcohol together near a govt tube well, where an argument broke out over ₹500 that Prasad owed to Singh.As Singh demanded his money back, the confrontation turned violent. Prasad strangled Singh to death. The victim’s son, Mahender Singh, discovered his father’s body the following morning after being alerted by local villagers. He subsequently filed a complaint at Quarsi police station.Following an investigation, Prasad was arrested. In Sept 2007, a sessions court framed charges against Prasad for murder (IPC Section 302), destruction of evidence (IPC Section 201), and violations under the SC/ST Act.“After thoroughly examining witness statements, forensic evidence, and the post-mortem report, the SC/ST court of Judge Pratibha Saxena on Wednesday found the accused guilty,” said SPO Singh.