Gonda (UP), Jun 4 (PTI) A court in Uttar Pradesh's Gonda district on Wednesday sentenced a father-son duo to life imprisonment in a murder case and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 each on the convicts.
Special Public Prosecutor Avneesh Dhar Dwivedi informed that the case originated on January 4, 2020, when Ajay Kumar Shukla, a resident of Mokalpur under the Kotwali Dehat police station area, got a police complaint filed alleging the dowry death of his sister. The complaint named his sister's husband, Dev Sharan Pandey, and father-in-law, Satish Pandey.
The local police had initially registered a case against the two accused under sections 498A (cruelty by husband or relatives), 304B (dowry death) of the Indian Penal Code, and sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. Following the investigation, a chargesheet was filed in the court.
"During the trial, Special Judge Namrata Agarwal, based on the evidence presented, modified the dowry-death charge to murder. After thoroughly examining the evidence on record, considering the statements of witnesses from both sides and hearing arguments from the advocates, the court on Wednesday found Dev Sharan Pandey and Satish Pandey guilty of murder," Dwivedi said.
The judge sentenced the husband and father-in-law of the victim to rigorous life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 each on the convicts.