Father-son duo sentenced to death for killing kin in Uttar Pradesh

Bareilly (UP): A Bareilly court on Tuesday awarded death sentence to a father-son duo in a 10-year-old murder case, besides slapping a fine of Rs 1 lakh on each of them.

Sessions Judge (fast-track court) Ravi Kumar Diwakar awarded capital punishment to Raghuveer Singh and his son Monu alias Tejpal Singh for brutally killing Raghuveer's brother Charan Singh on November 20, 2014, at Baheri over a land dispute.

"They will be hanged by the neck till they are dead," the judge said in his order.

"First Monu shot Charan on his chest then his father Raghuveer hacked him. The post-mortem report of the victim showed brutality," Digambar Singh, assistant government counsel, said.

The court separately awarded a five-year sentence to Monu in an Arms Act case along with a fine of Rs 10,000.

Evoking values enshrined in the Ramayana while pronouncing the verdict, Justice Diwakar said, "After Lord Ram left, (his brother) Bharat refused to take the throne. This shows the love of a brother. But you (Raghuveer) have killed him. It is the duty of every citizen to follow the path of justice, truth and dignity. When a person violates dignity, he should be handed severe punishment."

"The ideal of justice and truth in the Indian society is found in texts like Ramayana. Following Lord Ram's orders, Bharat placed his wooden sandals on the throne as a symbol. This shows how much a brother respects the dignity and rights of another brother.

"But in today's time, if a man takes the life of his brother following a dispute over property, it is the supreme duty of the court to act on such matter. Ramayana teaches us that maintaining the dignity of family and society is the duty of every citizen," he added.