Court awards lifer to 3 for killing Shiv Sena ZP member

Nagpur: Ten years after Mouda Zilla Parishad member Gopal Lohbare was brutally murdered, the Nagpur District and Sessions Court on Tuesday, awarded life term to three accused and five years jail to another.

Shankar, Dattu and Narayan Deshmukh were found guilty of killing Lohbare and were sentenced to life imprisonment, while Dilip Deshmukh was convicted for destroying evidence and was awarded five years imprisonment. The court also imposed a fine of Rs5,000 to first three accused and Rs2,000 on another.

The incident dates back to August 19, 2007 at a bar in Tarsa village in Mouda where Lohbare and his friend Sunil Pitye were sitting. The accused persons were present there too. A drunken brawl erupted between Shankar and Lohbare inside the bar, over a petty issue. Both attacked each other with broken bottles, but Pitye stepped in and ended the fight.

After Pitye left for home, the accused caught hold of Lohbare and killed him. Mouda police registered an offence of murder. The four convicts along with Devendra Konge, Ravi Chavan, Ravindra Chandalwada and Balu Dongre were arrested in this connection after investigations.

Deceased Lohbare was an active worker with the Shiv Sena. He contested the local elections in Tarsa on party's ticket and won with majority. He gained significant popularity in the village and was influential, which people speculate was the reason behind the enmity between the accused and Lohbare. His wife, Nanda had won the last ZP elections, after husband's death and is currently serving a member of the council representing Tarsa.