Muzaffarnagar: Eight years on, a district court in Muzaffarnagar has served death sentence to seven accused in a 2010 murder case where the accused had opened indiscriminate fire following a brawl over a volleyball game in the district’s Shahpur area. A 25-year-old youth was killed in the shootout while three others sustained severe bullet injuries. A case was lodged at the local police station.According to sources, a dispute during a game of volleyball in Harsoli village in Shahpur area had led to a scuffle between two groups in February 2010. Barely hours after this, one of the groups armed with illegal arms approached the victim, identified as Naseem, who was at him house and opened indiscriminate fire. He was killed on the spot while his two brothers and a nephew, Khaleel, Rayan and Shakil, sustained bullet injuries.Later, a case under various sections, including section 302 (murder) of IPC, was registered at Shahpur police station.According to prosecution lawyer Kamal Kant Kashyap, “The sentence was pronounced by additional district judge Rajesh Bhardwaj. We had produced strong evidence and seven witnesses and victims, who were injured in the incident, helped us make it a water-tight case. The accused, Sadiq, Shahid, Arshad, Rashid, Sarfaraz, and Mumtaz, were found guilty and pronounced death sentence.”According to the lawyer, the accused were also found guilty of other offences, including attempt to murder (section 307 of IPC) and under provisions of the Arms Act.Meanwhile, Muzaffarnagar police said that better prosecution saw 43 convictions in the month of October this year, which includes 13 life sentences.According to senior superintendent of police Sudhir Kumar, “Investigation officers are being emphasized to produce strong evidence in courts, so that the accused get maximum punishments. Due to better prosecution in courts, as many as 43 criminals got punishment in October, 13 of whom were handed life terms for murder and rape.”

Stay updated with all the Meerut Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.