2 get life for killing Chandigarh truck driver, robbing Rs 1.5 crore scrap

Bijnor: Two men were sentenced to life imprisonment for killing a 50-year-old Chandigarh-based truck driver and robbing scrap worth Rs 1.5 crore, along with his vehicle, in Jan 2022. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 70,000 each on the convicts.Police said Narayan Prasad's body was found on Jan 24, 2022, in Nahtaur area of Bijnor district. Preliminary investigation indicated he had been brutally murdered. Based on a complaint by the victim's son Rakesh at Nahtaur police station on Jan 27, 2022, an FIR was registered against unknown persons under IPC sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 394 (robbery).Bijnor SP Abhishek Jha said, "The convicts -- Gurdeep Singh of Rasulpur Abad village under Afzalgarh police station in Bijnor district and Gurmeet Singh of Lal Tappad under Doiwala police station in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, both truck drivers -- met Narayan, a resident Maloya village in Chandigarh, at a restaurant in Bahraich district on Jan 23, 2022. Narayan was transporting scrap from Bihar to Chandigarh, and the duo offered to help him, claiming they were from Bijnor. Gurmeet later joined Narayan in his truck."Jha said, "The trio later consumed liquor near Dhampur town in Bijnor district, where Gurdeep and Gurmeet hatched a plan to rob Narayan and called their accomplices. Gurmeet then drove the truck to a deserted stretch on Nahtaur-Haldaur road. When Narayan regained consciousness and asked to drive, the convicts and their associates forcibly pulled him out of the vehicle, struck him on the head with an iron rod and killed him. They dumped the body in nearby bushes, robbed Rs 40,000 from his pocket and looted the scrap-laden truck."The stolen vehicle was taken to a godown in Jigriwala under Afzalgarh police station, where the scrap was transferred to two other trucks with the help of scrap dealers. Police later raided the premises, arrested the convicts and recovered two trucks, a car and looted scrap worth Rs 1.5 crore. After completing the investigation, police filed a chargesheet in court, following which the duo was convicted on Saturday, officials said.