Now Reading: Eight men get life for hacking Bengaluru man who objected to smoking
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Eight men get life for hacking Bengaluru man who objected to smoking
A Bengaluru local court on Monday sentenced eight men to life imprisonment for hacking a 32-year-old man to death in 2017 after he objected to some of them smoking in public. The…
A Bengaluru local court on Monday sentenced eight men to life imprisonment for hacking a 32-year-old man to death in 2017 after he objected to some of them smoking in public. The convicts are Venkatesh M, B Vijay alias Kari Vijay, R Vinod Kumar, Gerald Arokiya Raj, R Kiran alias Dikky, I Vikram, James Kumar and S Vijay alias Kotanguchhi, all residents of Viveknagar.
The victim, Harish, was standing outside his house in Ashoknagar in November 2017 when he shouted at three men smoking nearby and warned of legal action. The trio left but returned with others armed with machetes and attacked Harish, who was with three friends. His mother and wife witnessed the murder after rushing out.
Public prosecutor Mahalingappa Uttura said five witnesses, the victim's mother, wife and three friends, identified all eight accused correctly in three separate identification parades at Central Prison, each time with the accused in different order, securing the conviction.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The life sentence under Section 302 IPC carries a minimum of 14 years before remission eligibility, though courts have discretion. The case turned on the credibility of eyewitness identification, a notoriously weak link in many trials. Here, the prosecution strengthened its case through repeated identification parades overseen by a tahsildar, making it harder for the defence to claim suggestibility. The incident echoes a pattern of public-space altercations over smoking turning violent in Indian cities. The convicts now have the right to appeal before the Karnataka High Court, which will review the trial court's evidence assessment rather than re-examine witnesses.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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