Rocky Yadav held guilty of murder in road rage case

Quantum of punishment to be announced on Sept 6

A local court in Gaya pronounced Rocky Yadav, son of suspended JD (U) MLC Manorama Devi, as guilty of murder of a teenage boy Aditya Sachdeva.

A class XIIth student, Aditya was reportedly killed by Rocky and his friends in May last year in the infamous road rage incident near Bodh Gaya. Three other persons have also been held guilty in the case.

The additional district and sessions judge Sachchidanand Singh pronounced the judgement in a packed-to-the-capacity court-room on Thursday. The quantum of punishment will be announced on September 6.

Aditya was killed allegedly for overtaking Rocky’s car on May 7, 2016 while he was returning to Gaya from holy town Bodh Gaya. Enraged over the incident, JD (U) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar last year suspended Manorama Devi from the party.

Rocky was arrested along with his father Bindi Yadav, an RJD leader. Two other accused taken into custody were Rocky’s cousin Teny Yadav and Manorma Devi’s bodyguard Rajesh.

Patna High Court Acting Chief Justice Iqbal Ahmad Ansari, shortly before his retirement, granted bail to Rocky in October 2016. The bail was, however, immediately cancelled by the Supreme Court. The apex court asked for speedy trial in the case, which had caught the nation’s attention, and fixed September 5, 2017 as the deadline.

The ADJ’s judgement comes five days before the SC deadline expires.

The case saw many twist and turns during the trial. Some of the friends of Aditya, who ware eyewitness to the killing, turned hostile during trial.The prosecution then relied on its scientific investigation and produced before the court Rocky’s Beretta pistol used in the killing. It also used tower location of Rocky’s mobile phone during the incident to nail the MLC’s son.

“We will wait for September 6, the day the quantum of punishment will be announced,” said Chanda Sachdeva, Aditya’s mother, in her first reaction over the court ruling.