Nagaon, Apr 24: A court in Assam’s Nagaon on Friday sentenced all 20 convicted in the lynching of two persons in Karbi Anglong to life imprisonment, eight years after the incident.
District Sessions Judge D J Mahanta also slapped a fine of Rs 20,000 each on the convicts.
The two were lynched in 2018 on the suspicion of being child lifters.
The court had on Monday convicted 20 of the 45 accused in the case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Altogether 48 people were arrested, and three other accused, who were minors, are currently lodged in Jorhat Juvenile Home.
The judge ruled that the circumstances and evidences presented during the hearing does not present the case to fall under the category of “rarest of rare”.
He said that the only punishment for the 20 accused is “rigorous imprisonment for life and a fine of Rs 20,000 each and in default to undergo simple imprisonment for another six months for the offence punishable under section 302/149 IPC”.
They are also sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three months and a fine of Rs 5,000 each, and in default, to undergo simple imprisonment for another 15 days for committing the offence punishable under Section 143 of the IPC.
Besides, the convicts are also sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and a fine of Rs 2,000 each, and in default, to undergo simple imprisonment for another two months for committing the offence punishable under Section 147 of the IPC.
All the sentences will run concurrently, and the detention period of the convicts already served during investigation and trial shall be set off from the sentenced period, the judge said.
He also ruled that this is a fit case for compensation to the family members of the victims under the ‘Victim Compensation Scheme’.
He recommended the case to the secretary of the Nagaon District Legal Services Authority to conduct an inquiry, decide on the quantum of compensation, and pay it to the victims’ families.
The fathers of the two men, however, said that they expected at least a few of the convicts would be given death sentence.
They had also said on Monday that they were dissatisfied with the acquittal of 25 people, and would move the Gauhati High Court against the verdict.
Advocate Bijon Mahajan, representing the families of the victims, said he will discuss the order with them, and if they are not satisfied with it, an appeal against it will be made in a higher court.
The duo, 29-year-old Nilotpal Das and 30-year-old Abhijeet Nath, went to the Kangthilangso picnic spot in Karbi Anglong and on their return, a group of irate villagers stopped their vehicle at Panjuri, pulled them out and began beating them on June 8, 2018.
According to a video circulated on social media, both Das and Nath pleaded that they were not child lifters, but Assamese youth visiting Karbi Anglong.
As per reports, Das, a sound engineer based in Mumbai, had come to Assam on vacation and along with Nath, a businessman, had gone to Karbi Anglong to capture sounds of nature and visit some scenic spots.
The police had rushed the duo to a hospital, but both died on the way. (PTI)
