Indore: A tractor driver involved in the mowing down of IPS officer Narendra Kumar Singh who tried to stop his vehicle carrying illegally mined stones, was Thursday held guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment by a city court.
Special CBI Judge Anupam Srivastava found tractor driver Manoj Gurjar guilty under Section 304 and 353 of IPC related to culpable homicide not amounting to murder and slapped on him a 10-year jail term. The judge also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000, CBI lawyer A H Khan said.
30-year-old Singh was killed on March 8, 2012 when he tried to stop Gurjar`s tractor trolley laden with illegally mined stones. Singh was posted as sub-divisional officer of police at Banmore at the time.
When the officer rushed and tried to stop the vehicle after climbing on the tractor, the accused accelerated and kicked him with his leg following which he fell down, came under the tractor tyre and died.
Singh, a 2009 batch IPS officer, was initially suspected to have been killed as part of a conspiracy by mining mafia, but subsequent investigations had ruled this out.
Keshavdev, father of Singh, had alleged conspiracy by mining mafia to kill his son but the contention was rejected by the agency in its charge sheet which termed Gurjar as the sole accused and also called the killing as "unintentional".
"It was not (an) intentional murder. There is no political involvement and no mafia link in the case and it is (a case of) culpable homicide," CBI prosecutor A H Khan had told reporters after filing of the charge sheet.
The CBI had charged Gurjar under sections 304 related to culpable homicide not amounting to murder and 353 of IPC related to obstructing government work and Motor Vehicles Act which attract a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
The court also sentenced him to two years` rigorous imprisonment under section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of IPC along with a fine of Rs 1,000.
After the judgement was pronounced, Gurjar`s counsel Mahendra Maurya said they will file an appeal in the High Court against the judgement.
The convict, presently lodged in Indore jail, also requested the court to transfer him to Morena jail.
PTI
