They were convicted of the murder of Chandan Gupta, who was shot dead in a communal clash that broke out during a 2018 Tiranga Yatra in Kasganj
Northlines Newsdesk
Lucknow, Jan 02: A special NIA court here sentenced 28 convicts to life imprisonment on Friday in the Kasganj violence in which Chandan Gupta was killed in a communal clash in Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh during the “Tiranga Yatra” on the Republic Day in 2018. Special judge Vivekanand Sharan Tripathi also imposed a fine of Rs 80,000 on each convict.
On Thursday, the special NIA court here on Thursday convicted 28 people of the murder of Chandan Gupta, who was shot dead in a communal clash that broke out during a 2018 Tiranga Yatra in Kasganj. They were convicted of charges of murder, attempted murder, rioting and insulting the national flag.
The case drew significant attention after Chandan Gupta’s death sparked riots in the region.
Earlier, on the quantum of sentence, the court heard the pleas of the defence as well as the prosecution, which had demanded the severest punishment to all the convicts.
The NIA court acquitted Nasiruddin and Asim Qureshi, citing lack of evidence to convict them.
On Thursday, the special court convicted the 28 under multiple sections of the penal code including murder and attempt to murder as well as the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act, 1971.
Chandan Gupta was killed on January 26, 2018 during a rally involving large number of motorcycles with the tricolour led by members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) — the students wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — in Kasganj city.
The rally was attacked when it passed through Muslim-dominated Baddunagar locality, sparking communal clashes. Amid the chaos, Gupta, an ABVP activist, was shot dead, further escalating the violence, which saw at least three shops, two buses and a car being torched. The unrest prompted the district administration to enforce curfew for seven days.
From Kasganj, the case was transferred to the Etah district court and thereafter to the NIA court, Lucknow, in 2022.
Those convicted are Salim, Wasim, Nasim, Jahid ‘Jagga’, Asiq Qureshi ‘Hitler’, Aslam Qureshi, Akram, Taufeeq, Khillan, Shabab, Rahat, Salam, Mohsin, Asif Jimwala, Saquib, Bablu, Nishu, Wasif, Imran, Shamshad, Jafar, Sakir, Khalid Parvez, Faizan, Imran Qayyum, Sakir Siddiqui, Munazir Rafi and Amir Rafi
One of the 28 convicts, Munazir Rafi, was already in jail in connection with Kasganj lawyer Mohini Tomar’s murder on September 3, 2024. The remaining 27 accused were out on bail. Of them, 26 surrendered before the court on Thursday and Salim surrendered on Friday.
During the trial of the case, prosecution presented 18 witnesses and the defence presented 23. Saurabh Pal, a prosecution witness in the case, had turned hostile,” district government counsel Manoj Tripathi said after additional sessions judge Vivekanand Saran Tripathi pronounced the verdict on Friday.
In another development, the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the petition challenging the decision to have Lucknow special court try the murder case. The Supreme Court today dismissed the petition pointing out that the NIA court has full jurisdiction to hear the case,” said advocates Subhash Bisaria and Amol Chitravanshi.
