26 years on, three Armymen sentenced to life for fatal shooting

More than 26 years after the fatal shooting of a person, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has overturned a trial court’s order of acquittal and sentenced three Army personnel and another accused to life imprisonment for the murder. The trial court had previously acquitted the three Army men and accused Bijender, after citing doubts over the prosecution’s evidence.

The trial court had accepted the defence’s claim regarding alibis, relying heavily on Army records and officer statements that placed Captain Anand, along with Yudhvir Singh and Raj Kumar, in Roorkee on the day of the crime. The court also noted inconsistencies in the prosecution’s motive argument.

The Bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma observed that the case dated back to 1998 when victim Mahender Singh was shot. Complainant Ramesh Kumar had alleged that altercations had earlier taken place between Mahender Singh and Raj Kumar’s family during panchayat elections, resulting in ill-will.