Varanasi: A court in Azamgarh on Thursday sentenced nine people, including a BJP functionary, to life imprisonment in the 2007 double murder case of Rudari village under Rani Ki Sarai police station.Additional sessions judge-I, Kamalapati, also imposed a fine of Rs 74,000 on each convict.The case dates back to Oct 21, 2007, the day of Dussehra, when complainant Ram Janam Singh, a resident of Rudari village, was sitting outside his house. According to the prosecution, a group of armed men arrived there and attacked members of his family over rivalry linked to the village pradhan election.During the attack, Parasnath Singh and his brother Talukdar Singh were shot dead in broad daylight. Several others, including Ram Janam, his nephews Ankit Singh and Ashish, sustained injuries after being assaulted with sticks.An FIR was lodged against 10 accused at Rani Ki Sarai police station under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. One of the accused, Radheshyam Singh, died during the trial.After investigation, police filed a charge sheet before the court. The prosecution examined 17 witnesses during the trial. Assistant district government counsel Gopal Pandey and Vindhyavasini Prasad Singh represented the prosecution.After hearing arguments from both sides, the court convicted Vipin Singh, Rajesh Singh, Chunnu alias Ranvijay, Chhotu alias Pankaj Singh, Balwant Singh, Loknath Singh, Jeevan Prakash Singh, Shivdas Singh and Arvind Singh. All the convicts are residents of Rudari village. Vipin is Rani Ki Sarai block chief and also a BJP functionary.Police said the conviction was secured under the “Operation Conviction” campaign through effective investigation by the district police, close supervision by the monitoring cell and strong prosecution.
