While one son died during trial, the other son Sunil Dutt Mishra, 43, was also sentenced to life imprisonment by additional sessions judge Aadesh Kumar Jain on Saturday.
A RETIRED additional district judge has been sentenced to life imprisonment for asking his two sons to murder a man over a property dispute near Pipariya in Madhya Pradesh’s Hoshangabad district 15 years ago.
While one son died during trial, the other son Sunil Dutt Mishra, 43, was also sentenced to life imprisonment by additional sessions judge Aadesh Kumar Jain on Saturday. The judge held that retired ADJ Hanuman Dutt Mishra was the mastermind who even tried to create evidence that he was not present at the scene of crime.
“Accused H D Mishra misused his long judicial experience to carry out a well-planned killing. Usually, a father provides opportunities to his children…the accused involved them in crime, created circumstances so that he could prove his presence elsewhere and misused his former position… to influence investigation and the investigating officer,’’ observed the judge.
Ramakant Ratan Purvia, 45, had received four bullet wounds and four others caused by sharp weapons. While Vijay Dutt Mishra, now dead, was armed with a revolver, his brother Sunil carried a sharp weapon when the two brothers and their father accosted Ramakant near an ice-cream shop on Pachmachi Road in the night.
An eyewitness deposed how the father and sons came to the spot on a two-wheeler and the retired ADJ said “wo khada hai Ramakant, ise jaan se khatm kar do (That’s Ramakant, kill him)”. The witness said when the victim tried to escape despite injuries, the retired ADJ asked his sons to kill him and himself tried to hold the victim’s hand.
“He may not have himself used any weapon or attacked the victim but it’s clear that he planned the murder and actively participated in its execution. He is as responsible as the other two accused,’’ ADJ Kumar said in his verdict. He also noted in the verdict how the retired ADJ walked up to the dais, after he was convicted, and threatened him before being sent to the lock up.