On March 29, Friday, a court in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, sentenced three convicts namely Akram, Mustakeen and Sajid to 6.5 years of imprisonment for brutally attacking labourers while they were carrying out repair work in 2015. The accused had not only attacked them but also hurled casteist abuses at them, reports LawBeat.
“You bas**rd, Cha**atto (casteist slur), how did you get the courage to build a Dharamshala? This is our place!” the convicts had reportedly told the labourers while thrashing them with batons and sticks.
Sajid and a fourth individual identified as ‘Muslim’ struck a worker using a baton, causing his brother Atar Singh to bleed to death. But Muslim was neither convicted nor sentenced since he passed away during the trial.
The three men were convicted and sentenced to 6.5 years of imprisonment for voluntarily causing hurt with the use of dangerous weapons and for obstructing peace under the Indian Penal Code (Sections 323, 324 and 504) as well as under sections 3 & 4 of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The defence counsel had argued before the court that the convicts should be given minimum punishment as they are solely responsible for providing for their families and they would starve if the convicts are kept behind bars. However, Special Judge PN Pandey rejected the plea.
The judge, however, acquitted the accused from the offence of Attempt to murder (under section 307).
Special Judge PN Pandey ruled that Akram was not found guilty of murder because his intention was not to kill Atar Singh. The Court further said that his weapon, though sharp, was not used to slit his throat. The medical reports submitted in court stated that the sharp weapon was not used with the aim of murder. Hence, the court found the accused guilty under IPC sections for voluntarily causing hurt with the use of dangerous weapons but not attempting to murder.