Delhi court sentences Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia, associate to life imprisonment
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court has sentenced Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia and his associate to life imprisonment under MCOCA provisions, but refused the death penalty saying the offences did not fall under the category of 'rarest of the rare cases'.
Additional Sessions Judge Vandana Jain sentenced Gulia and Dhirpal alias Kana to rigorous imprisonment for life under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
In an order dated December 13, the judge said, "Death sentence can only be awarded in 'rarest of the rare cases' wherein the murder is committed in an extremely inhumane, barbarous, grotesque or dastardly manner as to arouse umbrage of the community at large."
The judge said that on weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, it could be concluded that the present case did not fall under the category, and so, the death penalty could not be imposed upon the convicts.
"Thus, both the convicts are sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs 3 lakh each, for committing the offence under Section 3 of MCOCA," she said.
The public prosecutor, seeking the death penalty for both the accused, submitted that they were involved in several unlawful activities while they were on bail in other cases.
He argued that the accused had shown no respect for the law and acted without any fear of legal consequences, and therefore did not deserve any leniency from the court.
The court noted that both convicts were involved in offences of murder, attempt to murder, extortion, robbery, house trespass, and criminal intimidation. Besides, they had misused the liberty of interim bail granted to them by absconding.
It said, "The terror of the convicts was such that it created fear psychosis in the mind of the general public, and they lost complete faith in the law enforcement agencies and chose to accede to the illegal demands of convicts. Despite suffering losses, they could not gather the courage to depose against them."
The court noted that Gulia was involved in at least 18 criminal cases, while Dhirpal had links to 10 serious offences.
It underlined that MCOCA had been enacted "keeping in view the fact that organised crime had come up as a serious threat to society, as it knew no territorial boundaries and is fuelled by illegal wealth generated by committing the offence of extortion, contract killings, kidnapping for ransom, collection of protection money, murder, etc."
Both accused persons had been convicted on December 10 in a case registered at Najafgarh police station. The police filed a chargesheet under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) and 4 (punishment for possessing unaccountable wealth on behalf of member of organised crime syndicate) of MCOCA.
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FIR registered against BJP MLA Janardhana Reddy after clash over installation of banner
Ballari (PTI): An FIR was registered on Friday against BJP MLA Janardhana Reddy and 10 others in connection with alleged violent clashes that erupted over installation of banners ahead of a Valmiki statue unveiling programme in the city, police said.
Security was beefed up in Ballari, even as the situation remained peaceful, a day after clashes allegedly broke out between supporters of BJP MLA Janardhana Reddy and Congress MLA Bharath Reddy over the installation of banners, they said.
One person was killed during the incident on Thursday, police said.
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"The situation was brought under control, and additional security has been deployed. At present, the situation remains peaceful, and all precautionary measures have been taken to ensure that no untoward incident occurs," a senior police officer said.
In his complaint, 47-year-old Chanala Shekhar stated that MLA Bharat Reddy is undertaking various development works in the city, including roads and public projects. As part of this, a grand programme was organised near SP Circle for the unveiling of a Valmiki statue.
"On January 1, between 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm, the accused, Janardhan Reddy, Somasekhar Reddy, and others, allegedly damaged the banners put up for the unveiling ceremony near Janardhan Reddy's house," he alleged.
When he and Sathish Reddy questioned them, the accused, along with their supporters, picked up a fight and attacked them with the intention of killing them, the FIR stated. The complainant further alleged that the police officer, Srinivas, who intervened, was also injured.
Based on the complaint filed at Brucepet police station, the FIR was registered against Janardhana Reddy, Somasekhar Reddy, and nine others under sections of 109 (attempt to murder), 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 191 (2) (rioting), 189 (2) (unlawful assembly), 118 (1) (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 190 (making every member of an unlawful assembly guilty of an offense committed), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 351 (2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police added.
Videos circulating on social media showed a private gunman allegedly firing shots into the air as tension gripped the area.
The confrontation occurred ahead of a Valmiki statue unveiling programme scheduled to be held in the city on January 3.
According to police, supporters of Bharath Reddy were attempting to install banners in front of Janardhana Reddy's residence in the Avambhavi area, which was opposed by the latter's supporters, leading to a heated exchange.
What began as a verbal altercation soon escalated into a physical clash, with supporters from both sides allegedly resorting to stone-pelting. Police sources said stones were also hurled at personnel who rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control.
Several people were injured during the incident, and their number and identities were being verified, police said.
As the situation threatened to spiral out of control, police resorted to a lathi charge and had also fired bullets in the air to disperse the crowd and restore order.
Police said investigations are underway to ascertain the sequence of events and verify the allegations.
