<p>Justice Raghvendra Kumar Singh convicted Mantu under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 302 (murder), Section 394 (voluntary causing hurt in committing robbery) and 27-A Arms Act for possessing unlicensed weapon.<br /><br />The other two accused— Uday and Pinku—were convicted under Section 302/34 (murder committed in furtherance of common intention) and 394 of the IPC.<br />Dubey, an engineer working with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), was perceived to be a whistleblower, who exposed corruption in the Golden Quadrilateral project in Bihar. <br /><br />However, the young engineer, posted in Gaya, was killed on November 27, 2003, shortly after he had written to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee detailing financial and contractual irregularities in the project.<br />An alumnus of IIT-Kanpur, Dubey had earlier blown the lid off various instances of large-scale irregularities in NHAI sub-contracting and quality control rules at Koderma and Gaya stretches of the project.<br /><br />The murder sparked off nationwide protests, amid calls to bring in legislation to protect the whistleblowers who expose corruption. Eventually, the Central Bureau of Investigation took over the case from Bihar police on December 14, 2003, and filed a charge sheet in the case on September 3, 2004. <br /><br />During the investigations, the CBI arrested four persons— Mantu, Uday, Pinku and Shravan—all petty thieves. According to the prosecution, when Dubey was returning to his residence on a rickshaw from Gaya station at 3 am on November 27, 2003, the four robbed him of his belongings. During the scuffle, Mantu shot Dubey dead with a .315 pistol.<br /><br />Later, Shravan, who turned an approver, gave full and voluntary disclosure to the CBI about the incident.<br /><br />‘Cover-up by CBI’<br />Reacting to the court verdict, Dubey’s brother Dhananjay said he was “really disappointed” since the three accused were “purely innocent.” Calling it a cover-up exercise by the CBI, Dhananjay said the real culprits were still at large, and the claims made by the CBI were completely false.<br />DH News Service<br /><br />*November 27, 2003: A young IITian, Satyendra Dubey, posted in Gaya, is killed for exposing corruption.<br />*December 14, 2003: Amid country-wide protest, the CBI takes over the probe from Bihar police.<br />*September 3, 2004: The investigating agency files a charge sheet in the case. <br />*March 22, 2010: The fast track court convicts three <br />accused – Mantu Kumar,<br /> Uday Kumar and Pinku <br />Ravidas.<br />*March 27, 2010: Justice Raghvendra Kumar Singh awards life-term to the three accused. </p>
<p>Justice Raghvendra Kumar Singh convicted Mantu under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 302 (murder), Section 394 (voluntary causing hurt in committing robbery) and 27-A Arms Act for possessing unlicensed weapon.<br /><br />The other two accused— Uday and Pinku—were convicted under Section 302/34 (murder committed in furtherance of common intention) and 394 of the IPC.<br />Dubey, an engineer working with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), was perceived to be a whistleblower, who exposed corruption in the Golden Quadrilateral project in Bihar. <br /><br />However, the young engineer, posted in Gaya, was killed on November 27, 2003, shortly after he had written to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee detailing financial and contractual irregularities in the project.<br />An alumnus of IIT-Kanpur, Dubey had earlier blown the lid off various instances of large-scale irregularities in NHAI sub-contracting and quality control rules at Koderma and Gaya stretches of the project.<br /><br />The murder sparked off nationwide protests, amid calls to bring in legislation to protect the whistleblowers who expose corruption. Eventually, the Central Bureau of Investigation took over the case from Bihar police on December 14, 2003, and filed a charge sheet in the case on September 3, 2004. <br /><br />During the investigations, the CBI arrested four persons— Mantu, Uday, Pinku and Shravan—all petty thieves. According to the prosecution, when Dubey was returning to his residence on a rickshaw from Gaya station at 3 am on November 27, 2003, the four robbed him of his belongings. During the scuffle, Mantu shot Dubey dead with a .315 pistol.<br /><br />Later, Shravan, who turned an approver, gave full and voluntary disclosure to the CBI about the incident.<br /><br />‘Cover-up by CBI’<br />Reacting to the court verdict, Dubey’s brother Dhananjay said he was “really disappointed” since the three accused were “purely innocent.” Calling it a cover-up exercise by the CBI, Dhananjay said the real culprits were still at large, and the claims made by the CBI were completely false.<br />DH News Service<br /><br />*November 27, 2003: A young IITian, Satyendra Dubey, posted in Gaya, is killed for exposing corruption.<br />*December 14, 2003: Amid country-wide protest, the CBI takes over the probe from Bihar police.<br />*September 3, 2004: The investigating agency files a charge sheet in the case. <br />*March 22, 2010: The fast track court convicts three <br />accused – Mantu Kumar,<br /> Uday Kumar and Pinku <br />Ravidas.<br />*March 27, 2010: Justice Raghvendra Kumar Singh awards life-term to the three accused. </p>
