GURUGRAM: Five months after Nikita Tomar, a 20-year-old final-year BCom student, was shot dead from point-blank range outside her college in Ballabhgarh, her stalker and his aide were on Wednesday convicted of murder by a special court in Faridabad. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced by additional sessions judge Sartaj Baswana on Friday.
A third accused, Azaruddin, who was arrested for allegedly supplying weapons to Touseef, was acquitted for lack of evidence.
The two men, Touseef, who is a cousin of Congress MLA Aftab Ahmed, and Rehan, who was accompanying him that day, were held guilty under sections 302 (murder), 366 (kidnapping a woman to compel her into marriage), 506 (criminal intimidation), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC. Both have been in jail since their arrest in October.
Nikita’s killing on October 26 last year had been captured on CCTV cameras. The footage proved crucial in the case. The court also relied on forensic reports, fingerprints recovered from the car used in the crime, statements of witnesses, including an eyewitness, and the police probe.
“Police made a very strong case and produced all relevant evidence to support their investigation report,” said Aidal Singh Rawat, counsel for Nikita’s family who is also her maternal uncle. He added that they will demand the hardest punishment for the youths.
Public prosecutor S K Pawar said, “We strongly argued the case and produced all necessary evidence.”
Anees Khan, counsel for Touseef and Rehan, said they will challenge the order before the Punjab and Haryana high court once the court announces the quantum of punishment.
Touseef and Nikita studied in the same school in Faridabad and were batchmates. Her murder had triggered a political row in Haryana after her family alleged that Touseef had been pressuring her to convert to Islam and marry him. A 700-page chargesheet filed by police listing 60 witnesses said Touseef had killed Nikita to take revenge. After she rejected his proposal in 2018, he had allegedly kidnapped her. A case had been registered and withdrawn later after a panchayat was held. Nikita’s family members had alleged they had been pressured to do so by Touseef’s relatives, who wield considerable political influence in Nuh. His family had assured them he would not trouble Nikita anymore, they had claimed.
Police said the murder was planned and not a spontaneous one and that Touseef procured a weapon for it. “The two men were arrested within 24 hours of the incident and the chargesheet was filed in a record 11 days. The court’s verdict has come in four months,” said police spokesperson Sube Singh.
Azaruddin’s arrest had triggered resentment in Nuh. Hundreds of villagers gathered for a mahapanchayat in Punhana and alleged he was being framed to protect Touseef.
Aruna, Azaruddin’s mother, said she had faith in the judiciary. “I’m happy my son has been acquitted. He was wrongly framed,” she added.