Kasganj. The NIA Special Court of Lucknow has announced the punishment in the famous Chandan Gupta murder case of Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh. On Friday, the court sentenced all 28 convicts to life imprisonment. Earlier two accused were acquitted. Before the announcement of the sentence, Salim, a murder accused, reached the court in a wheelchair to surrender.
This case was in the news due to the nature of communal violence in which the death of Chandan (Chandan Gupta) had sparked violence in the area. The court’s special judge Vivekanand Sharan Tripathi had convicted the accused of murder, attempt to murder, rioting and insulting the national flag. Out of these 28 convicts, 26 people were present in the court while the appearance of one accused, Munajir, took place from jail through video conferencing.
The court issued an arrest warrant for another accused, Salim, who remained absent during the trial. Chandan Gupta was shot dead in the riots that took place during the Tiranga Yatra in Kasganj district on 26 January 2018. The father of the deceased had filed a case against 20 named accused and others. After that the police filed the charge sheet in the court against a total of 31 accused.
In this case, 18 witnesses were presented by the prosecution. At the same time, 23 witnesses were presented by the defense side. There was no hearing on Section 124A of treason because it has been suspended by the Supreme Court. One of the accused, Azizuddin, died during the trial, after which his proceedings were terminated. The two accused in the case, Nasruddin and Asim Qureshi, were acquitted by the court due to lack of evidence.
