A Delhi court has awarded life imprisonment to two persons for strangulating an 87-year-old retired official of the Defence Ministry at his residence in East Patel Nagar while committing a robbery. The convicts hail from Darbhanga in Bihar and had robbed Rs.2.8 lakh in cash, jewellery and electronic gadgets from the victim’s residence.
A juvenile was also involved in the crime. He worked as a domestic help and stayed at the victim’s residence. He had driven the victim’s grandchildren to a tutor as part of the conspiracy with the two adult accused so that the old man could be left alone at his residence.
The victim stayed along with his son, his wife and their two children. On the day of the incident, the victim’s son and daughter-in-law were at their office. They ran an advertising agency.
The juvenile had over phone insisted on taking the two children to the tutor even when their mother rejected his request to drive them there. He had taken the plea that that her son had fever.
He is facing prosecution before the Juvenile Justice Board. The trial court held him guilty of the criminal conspiracy charge.
Of the two adult accused, one had also worked as a driver for the family 10 years ago before the incident in 2011.
The mobile of one of the adult accused proved crucial in proving their presence in East Patel Nagar on the day of the incident, in locating their movements and finally led to their arrest at a guest house in Darbhanga.
The police were also able to recover the robbed cash and the other items at the instance of the two accused. The court dismissed the defence of the accused that they had been implicated in the case.
Sentencing the two accused, Rajesh Chaudhary and Mahesh Chaudhary, for criminal conspiracy, robbery and murder, Additional Sessions Judge Narinder Kumar said: “Herein, greed eclipsed faithfulness and wisdom, and as a result, the faith reposed by the master and the other family members in the servants stands shattered.” The convicts had strangulated the old man with the rope of a purse. They had also given him knife blows, causing multiple injuries.
