Court sentences man to life for 2018 murder

Lucknow: A district court in Sultanpur on Friday sentenced a man to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of murdering another man in July 2018.However, the co-accused were acquitted due to a lack of evidence.Additional DGC, criminal, Vijay Shankar Shukla, said that the accused Pawan Soni was convicted under the charges of IPC 302 (murder), 147 (rioting), 148 (armed with deadly weapons) and 149 (unlawful assembly).Shukla said that the case stemmed from a murder that took place on July 11, 2018, in Gangupur village, under the jurisdiction of Dostpur police station. The victim, Triveni Soni, was killed by the accused using sticks, batons and an axe, reportedly due to an ongoing dispute. Triveni's family members, Vikas and Durgavati, were also injured while attempting to intervene.The deceased's wife, Anita Soni, filed a murder case against Pawan Soni, Gangaram Soni, Ajay Kumar, Virendra Soni (also known as Pappu), and Rajkumar (also known as Raj). After nearly six years of hearings, the court convicted Pawan Soni for the murder and ordered his life imprisonment. However, the court found insufficient evidence to charge the remaining co-accused — Gangaram Soni, Ajay Kumar, Virendra Soni and Rajkumar — and acquitted them of all charges.