A trail court in Etah in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday awarded the death sentence to 10 persons on the charge of murdering three persons, including a girl and her paramour, in a suspected case of honour killing.
On the night of November 13/14, 2008 Rameshpal Singh, Udaypal Singh alias Bhura and Vidya were beaten up and then shot from point blank range by the girl's relatives at Bilkhatra village.
The judgment was pronounced by Additional Sessions and Special Judge (anti-dacoity) RB Sharma.
According to Special Director-General (law and order) Brij Lal, a case was filed by Laxmi at the Jalesar police station on November 14, 2008 under Sections 468/08, 147,148,149 and 302 of the Indian Penal Code. The girl's father, Ramesh Pal, and 11 others were named accused. The police filed a charge sheet against them on January 13, 2009 and another charge sheet against gram pradhan Narendra Singh, who was the 13th accused, on March 3, 2009.
The incident was the fallout of the affair between Vidya and Udaypal belonging to Bilkhatra, who eloped in October 2008. The duo, along with Udaypal's brother Rameshpal, was captured by the girl's relatives after some days at Balukhera and was subsequently killed. The main accused, Ramesh Pal, is a hardened criminal of the area, it is alleged. The 10 persons sentenced to death are Ramesh Pal, Surjan, Ajay Pratap, Sukhpal Singh, Tejpal Singh, Rakesh alias Bhola, Laloo alias Randhir, Sanju alias Sanjay, Kayam Singh and Pappu alias Jaipal. A fine of Rs. 10,000 each was also imposed on the convicts.
