Man sentenced to life for abduction, murder of minor

Khargone: A man was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday for abduction and murder of a minor nephew of Congress MLA from Bhagwanpura.Special Judge under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Mandleshwar, Masood Ahmed Khan found Yash alias Yasu Patel guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment for killing 17-year-old Abhinay Dabur. Additionally, for destruction of evidence, he was awarded four years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000.According to the prosecution, on March 23, 2023, the victim, Abhinay alias Bittu Dawar, left his home on motorcycle, stating that he was going towards Bistan Naka area. He, however, did not return until late at night and his mobile phone was found to be switched off.A complaint was lodged after which Kotwali police station, Khargone, registered a case of abduction and initiated investigation. The police questioned Yash Patel and a juvenile, and they confessed that they had called Abhinay on his phone and had asked him to join them. The three of them then consumed beer on Khargone-Bistan Road. The duo asked Abhinay to lend them his bike for a few days, but he refused. On this, they hit him on head with a beer bottle and rendered him unconscious. They then took him to trenching ground, strangled him to death with a nylon rope, hanged his body from a tree on nearby Dabriya Road and fled with his two-wheeler. Abhinay was nephew of Congress MLA from Bhagwanpura, Kedar Dabur.Special Public Prosecutor Vijay Singh Jamra told TOI that the trial of the juvenile accused in this case is going on in Juvenile Court, Khargone.