UP man who killed 2 inside court 20 yrs ago gets life term

Agra: A local court in Etah sentenced a 50-year-old man to life imprisonment in a 2006 case of double murder inside the court premises and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh. The court also wrote to the UP DGP seeking departmental action against the then- investigating officer for what it termed a "negligent and flawed" probe.Additional district and sessions judge Dinesh Chand on Thursday also directed that 50% of the fine be paid as compensation to the complainant, Pradeep Kumar. In case of non-payment, the convict, Manoj Singh, will be required to serve an additional year in prison, the court said.District govt counsel (DGC) RPS Rathore said the incident occurred on Nov 29, 2006, when Pradeep Kumar, a resident of Nagla Harvati in Kasganj, had come to the Etah court complex along with his brother Sandeep, 28, and father Rakshpal, 50, to depose in connection with a 2004 murder case.During the proceedings, firing broke out inside the court premises. Sandeep was shot dead on the spot, while Rakshpal sustained critical injuries and later died at a district hospital.An FIR was registered at Kotwali Nagar police station under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), among others. Manoj was chargesheeted along with six others — Chandrashekhar Yadav, Harivallabh alias Khanna, Avdhesh, Charan Singh, Banwari Lal and Chanchal.The prosecution argued that the attack stemmed from old enmity linked to an earlier murder case in which the deceased were witnesses. During the trial of the 2006 case, the court examined witnesses and technical evidence before convicting Manoj. Banwari Lal died during the pendency of the trial.The court acquitted the remaining accused, citing a lack of evidence and granting them the benefit of doubt.In its order, the court also directed the DGP to initiate a probe and take departmental action against retired inspector Rajpal Singh, the then investigation officer, for lapses in the investigation.