Nine-year rigorous imprisonment for 21-year-old

A 21-year-old youth from the Kuki tribe in Manipur has been sentenced to nine years’ rigorous imprisonment by a court here for killing a member of his own ethnic group in North Delhi’s Maurice Nagar in 2014. The victim was from Meghalaya.

Though the Delhi Police had charge-sheeted accused Letminjoy under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, the court converted it to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, stating that there was no premeditation on his part while committing the crime. The accused was a final-year B.A. student at Delhi University at the time of the incident.

Seeking lenient punishment for the convict, his counsel argued that he was 21-year-old, had three sisters to look after and was a first-time offender. Letminjoy’s father is a sepoy with the Border Security Force and posted in Jammu & Kashmir.

The counsel further submitted that as per their custom, the convict’s family had given a compensation of Rs.3 lakh to the victim’s kin. Moreover, Letminjoy’s family had borne the expenses of taking the body to Meghalaya.

However, the prosecution said the court had already taken a lenient view by converting the offence from 302 of IPC to Section 304-I.

Convict Letminjoy murdered Ngnlmin Lal Haokip in his room, then went to his friend’s Thangbiolen room and stated that Ngnlmin Lal Haokip was not moving. When both Thangbiolen and Letminjoy reached the room, they found Ngnlmin Lal Haokip’s body and articles, including knife, lying there,” Additional Sessions Judge Atul Kumar Garg said while sentencing the convict.