Now Reading: Two policemen get life term for 2005 Etah custodial death
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Two policemen get life term for 2005 Etah custodial death
A serving policeman and a retired constable were sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday for the 2005 custodial death of a man in Etah district, Uttar Pradesh. District and sessions judge Rakesh…
The Story in Brief
A serving policeman and a retired constable were sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday for the 2005 custodial death of a man in Etah district, Uttar Pradesh. District and sessions judge Rakesh Dhar Dubey also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 each on Mahaveer Singh (currently posted in Hathras) and Gajraj Singh (retired). The court convicted them under IPC sections including murder (302/24), criminal intimidation and causing disappearance of evidence.
The case dates to panchayat elections in August 2005, when Ativeer Singh alleged his brother Munna was taken to Jainthra police station and beaten to death. Four policemen were originally booked; station in-charge Manish Yadav and constable Midhai Lal died during the trial. The defence argued the recovered skeleton belonged to a 15-18-year-old, while the deceased was in his thirties, but the court ruled that a body is not essential to prove murder if other evidence suffices, Hindustan Times reports.
The Indian Opinion
This conviction after 19 years shows that custodial torture can still be punished, but the glacial pace of trial, two of four accused died before judgment, exposes a justice system that often lets the worst cases lapse. Some will call it a rare victory for accountability; others will point to the decades families wait for closure. The real test now is whether the two convicts’ expected appeal is heard quickly, and whether the government acts on the case's record of evidence to deter future police killings.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
