SP leader's murder case: Noida court sentences gangster Randeep Bhati, 3 others to life imprisonment

Noida: A local court on Monday convicted four people, including gangster Randeep Bhati, in a 2013 murder case of a Samajwadi Party leader in Greater Noida and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

Samajwadi Party leader Chaman Bhati was shot dead inside his home at Dabra village on April 24, 2013. Nine people were booked for the sensational murder in which the case was lodged at Dadri police station.

Hearing the case, Additional Sessions Court Judge Chandra Mohan Shrivastav convicted Randeep Bhati, Kulveer Bhati, Yogesh Dabra and Umesh Sharma in the case.

Three other people mentioned in the FIR -- Joginder, Yatender and Harendra -- have been acquitted by the court. One of the accused in the case, a minor, is under trial in a juvenile court while another was shot dead in an encounter with the police.

"The prosecution has proven that the four convicts are guilty beyond doubt, while in the case of the three other accused the prosecution has failed to prove them guilty, hence they have been acquitted," the judge noted in his verdict.

The convicts were charged with IPC sections 302 (murder), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 452 (trespassing), according to the court's order. 

The court also slapped a penalty of Rs 50,000 on each convict.

"In the event of the convicts not depositing the fine, they will have to undergo imprisonment for an additional year," the court ordered. 

According to a police official involved in the investigation of the case, the Samajwadi Party functionary was killed because of an old rivalry with the convicts.

Ranjeet Bhati and Kulveer Bhati are currently lodged in the Luksar Jail in Greater Noida while Yogesh Dabra and Umesh Sharma in Delhi's Tihar Jail, the official added.