Zeenews Bureau
Kolkata: The owner of popular confectionery chain Haldiram, Prabhu Shankar Agarwal, was on Friday sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted by a city court in an attempt-to-murder case.
Four others who were also convicted in the case have been given life sentence.
Agarwal, who has an outlet at Burrabazar, and four others, including Gopal Tiwari, the hired killer, Raja Sonkar, Monoj Thakur and Arun Khandelwal were charged with attempt to murder of a tea stall owner which was in front of the outlet.
Judge Tapan Sen of the Bankshall Court awarded the
sentence to Agarwal, history-sheeters Gopal Tiwari, Arun
Khandelwal, Manoj Sharma and Raju Sonkar under Section 120 B
(criminal conspiracy) besides 10 years rigorous prison terms
under section 307/34 (attempt to murder/common intention).
Tiwari was also found guilty under the Arms Act and
sentenced to seven years in one section and three years in
another. All the sentences would run concurrently, the judge
said in his order.
On March 30, 2005, Gopal Tiwari entered the house of Pramod Sharma, the tea stall owner, and shot him from a close range. Luckily he was hit in the leg and managed to escape.
On the basis of a complaint filed by Sharma, the police arrested Agarwal. Subsequently, it was revealed from the interrogation of Agarwal that there were four others involved in the crime.
The judge of the fourth fast track court, Tapan Sen, held the five guilty and the quantum of their punishment would be declared on Friday.
Tiwari was lodged in a correctional home while Agarwal and the four others, who had secured bail, appeared before the court. They were taken into custody today, the police said.
-PTI inputs
