| Court awards lifer to Royal, acquitted Nagar Singh, then SSP Manohar Singh, ors | | Amandeep Murder case | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Aug 10 : After 11 years of trial, 2nd Additional Sessions Judge Jammu Virender Singh Bhou today announced judgment of much publicized Amandeep murder case.
2nd Additional Sessions Judge Jammu, Bhou while pronouncing the judgement in an 11-year old murder case of Amandeep Singh, son of former NC Member of Legislative Assembly Deepinder Kour, awarded life-imprisonment to Royal Singh whereas acquitted Manohar Singh, then SSP Jammu, Sultan Mehmood Mirza then SHO, Sarwar Hussain Bukhari then Ballistic expert, Nagar Singh, Jagar Singh and Rakesh Singh.
A third policeman, sub-inspector Satnam Singh, who died when the case was still being tried, was also acquitted.
Amandeep Kaur was killed outside his Shastri Nagar home on August 29, 2009. Jatinder Singh alias Raja, son of an influential businessman Choudhary Nagar Singh alias Nago, was a prime s uspect in the case. Raja died under mysterious circumstances in Udhampur jail in 2017.
A fourth cop, Udhampur jail superintendent, was also arrested on charges of conspiring to kill Amandeep Singh’s uncle.
The court, in its 178 page verdict, held Jatinder Singh alias Raja, son of an influential businessman Choudhary Nagar Singh alias Nago, and another suspect, Royal Singh, guilty of the murder. Raja died under mysterious circumstances in Udhampur jail in 2017 while the case was still being tried.
The court however was scathing of the investigation conducted in the case, saying the prosecution case suffered from “factual gaps, loopholes and missing links”.
“Prosecution has miserably failed to prove the relevant facts leading to the occurrence and role played by other accused persons in conspiracy of swapping of alleged weapon of offence to screen the main accused and also for changing the bullet during investigation on the basis of evidence, which is conflicting, contradictory and suffers from factual gaps, loopholes and missing links, beyond reasonable shadow of doubt, so the benefit of doubt goes to accused, namely, Nagar Singh, Jagar Singh, Rakesh Singh, Manohar Singh, Sultan Mehmood Mirza and SH Bukhari. Resultantly, the challan against these accused fails and is accordingly dismissed so far it pertains to these accused persons,” the court observed. JNF
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