HC delivers split judgement on death sentence to 2 convicts in 2013 Pakur SP murder case
2
Ranchi: A division bench of Justices Rongon Mukhopadhyay and Sanjay Prasad of the Jharkhand high court delivered a split judgement on the confirmation of death sentence awarded to two convicts by the Dumka Sessions Judge on 26 September 2018 for the death of five policeman and former Pakur superintendent of police (SP) Amarjit Balihar.
Hearing the criminal appeal filed by Pravir Murmu alias Pravir Da and Sanatan Baskey alias Tala Da, Justice Mukhopadhyay acquitted the convicts, while Justice Prasad found the convicts to be guilty and upheld the death sentence in the 197-page judgement delivered on July 17.
The then Pakur SP Amarjit Balihar and his team travelling in two police vehicles were ambushed by extremists near Jamni crusher plant under the Kathikund police station limits in Dumka on 2 July 2013.
SP Balihar, along with five personnel Rajiv Kumar Sharma, Manoj Hembram, Chandan Kumar Thapa, Ashok Kumar Srivastava, and Santosh Kumar Mandal, attained martyrdom. Constables Lebenius Marandi and Dhanraj Maraiya survived the carnage and became eyewitnesses.
Constables Marandi and Maraiya mentioned in the FIR lodged with the Kathikund police station that they were fired at by extremists and got no chance to react.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Use an AI Writing Tool That Actually Understands Your Voice
Grammarly
Install Now
Undo
The two witnesses also claimed that they heard the extremists take the names of Pravir Da and Tala Da (Appellants).
The prosecution examined 31 witnesses, including the two eyewitnesses, in the court of the Dumka Sessions Judge, which found accused Pravir Da and Tala Da guilty and awarded death penalty.
Sanatan filed an appeal before the high court on 14 December 2018, while Pravir filed on 18 December 2018 against the verdict by the Dumka sessions judge .
In the high court, Justice Mukhopadhyay held that the version of the eyewitnesses was not reliable. "The witnesses had deposed that they had become unconscious after the shooting and therefore could not have heard the names of the appellants. Though both Marandi and Maraiya were witnesses to the occurrence, they had not seen the convicts participating in the mayhem," the court observed. In para 68 of the judgement, Justice Mukhopadhyay set aside the order of conviction and the death sentence awarded to the convicts.
Taking a contradictory view, Justice Prasad held that the eyewitnesses, who were police constables in the team of slain SP Amarjit Balihar, had identified Prabir Da and Tala Da in the court to be present at the place of occurrence. Justice Prasad further held that the gruesome death of an IPS officer, along with his police team in discharge of their official duty, were murdered in broad daylight does not evoke any sympathy.
Affirming the death sentence awarded to the two appellants, Justice Prasad directed the state govt to provide a compensation of Rs 2 crores to the kith and kin of Amarjit Balihar and further provide a job in the rank of DSP/deputy collector to the son and daughter of the deceased police officer. Further, a compensation of Rs 50 lakh each should also be provided to the family members of the five police constables who died in the incident and a Grade-IV job in the govt on compassionate grounds.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
13 minutes ago
- Hans India
Karnataka: Proclaimed female offender in bank fraud case after seven years
Bengaluru: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has traced and arrested a proclaimed offender, Nasreen Taj, in a high-value bank fraud case, pursuant to sustained and meticulous efforts made by the investigating team. The CBI in its official release stated on Monday that advanced tech tools helped to identify and locate the accused absconding for nearly seven years. The accused Nasreen Taj failed to join the trial or respond to summons and warrants and has been untraceable since 2019. Multiple Non-Bailable Warrants (NBWs) were issued against her since April 30, 2019. Finally, the Special Court, Bengaluru, on November 27, 2021, ordered to issuance 'Proclamation and Attachment of property warrant' against her. Despite sustained efforts over the years to trace Nasreen Taj, the absconding accused had remained untraceable. While other co-accused were tried and convicted/acquitted in the case, the trial against the absconding accused remained pending, the CBI said. The accused Nasreen Taj had deliberately severed contact with her spouse, family members, and social network, frequently changed residences and assumed a new name. She had misled the local residents as well as the employer about her real identity and had maintained minimal interaction with locals, further hindering efforts to trace her. The CBI, through the deployment of advanced technological tools and identity-tracking databases, meticulously analysed the digital footprint of the absconding accused to ascertain her current identity and location. Supplemented by extensive field investigations and on-ground inquiries, the CBI team successfully located Nasreen Taj in Bengaluru, where she was living under the false name of Salma. Pursuant to her identification, Nasreen Taj was apprehended on July 19, 2025 and produced before the Competent Court at Bengaluru, which remanded her to judicial custody for the purpose of further trial proceedings. The accused is presently undergoing trial, having remained absconding for a period of nearly seven years, the CBI stated. The instant bank fraud case was registered by CBI on April 15, 2009, against accused persons, including the then Branch Manager of Syndicate Bank, Mandya Branch, Asadullah Khan and 8 others for criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and use of forged documents as genuine, to defraud the Syndicate Bank, the CBI stated. In this case, the accused had conspired to cheat the Syndicate Bank to the tune of Rs 12.63 crores. Accused Nasreen Taj had no independent source of income. However, in collusion with her husband, Asadullah Khan, and others, she fraudulently availed a Temporary Overdraft (TOD) facility of up to Rs 1.20 crore, along with farm loans amounting to Rs 55 lakhs from Syndicate Bank, the CBI said. "The proceeds from these farm loans were illicitly diverted by her towards the repayment of the TOD, instead of utilising it for agricultural development, as mandated under the terms of the sanction. After completion of the investigation, CBI filed the charge sheet on October 12, 2010, making Nasreen Taj one of the conspirators to cheat and defraud the Syndicate Bank," the CBI said. This case is a classic example of how the integration of technology-driven intelligence platforms with the persistent and coordinated efforts of investigating officers on the ground can substantially augment the operational capabilities of law enforcement agencies in tracing and apprehending long-absconding offenders, the CBI concluded.
Economic Times
13 minutes ago
- Economic Times
SBI classifies RCom, its promoter Anil Ambani as 'fraud'; to lodge complaint with CBI
State Bank of India has classified Reliance Communications along with promoter director Anil D Ambani as 'fraud' and is also in the process of lodging complaint with CBI, Parliament was informed on Monday. ADVERTISEMENT The entities were classified as fraud on June 13, 2025 in accordance with the RBI's Master Directions on Fraud Risk Management and Bank's Board-approved Policy on Classification, Reporting & Management of Frauds, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. "On June 24, 2025, the bank reported classification of fraud to RBI, and is also in the process of lodging complaint with CBI," he said. Further, on July 1, 2025, as part of disclosure compliance, Resolution Professional of RCom informed the Bombay Stock Exchange regarding fraud classification by the bank. The credit exposure of SBI in RCom includes, fund-based principal outstanding amount of Rs 2,227.64 crore along with the accrued interest and expenses with effect from August 26, 2016 and non-fund based Bank Guarantee of Rs 786.52 crore, he said. RCom is undergoing Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The resolution plan was approved by the Committee of Creditors and filed with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai on March 6, 2020, and NCLT approval is awaited. ADVERTISEMENT The bank has also initiated Personal Insolvency Resolution Process under IBC against Anil D Ambani and the same is being heard by NCLT, Mumbai, he said. The bank had earlier classified the account and promoter Anil D Ambani as 'fraud' on November 10, 2020 and filed a complaint with the CBI on January 5, 2021. ADVERTISEMENT However, he said, the complaint was returned in view of the 'status quo' order dated January 6, 2021 by the High Court, Delhi. Meanwhile, a Supreme Court judgement dated March 27, 2023 in State Bank of India & Others Vs Rajesh Agarwal & Others case mandated that lenders provide borrowers with an opportunity to represent before classifying their accounts as fraud. ADVERTISEMENT Accordingly, he said, the fraud classification in the account was reversed by the bank on September 2, 2023. The fraud classification process was re-run, and the account was again classified as 'fraud' after following the due process as per RBI circular dated July 15, 2024. ADVERTISEMENT In reply to another question, Chaudhary said there is no proposal to waive the outstanding agricultural loans under consideration with the Union Government. However, he said, the Union Government has taken several measures to provide relief and to improve the economic conditions of farmers which includes timely and adequate credit through Kisan Credit Card (KCC) under which crop loan of up to Rs 3 lakh is provided at subsidized interest rates under the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS). It comes with additional incentives for timely repayment, fixation of progressively increased agricultural credit target, issuance of revised Priority Sector Lending guidelines to ensure improved credit flow to the agricultural sector etc. Replying to another question, Chaudhary said the Government of India launched Bima Sakhi- 'Mahila Career Agent (MCA) Scheme' on December 9, 2024. LIC paid Rs 62.36 crore to Bima Sakhis as stipend in FY2024-25, he said. In the current financial year (2025-26), he said, LIC has provided a budget of Rs 520 crore for the scheme, out of which Rs 115.13 crore has been paid up to July 14, 2025. At present, there are 2,05,896 Bima Sakhis in the country. LIC provides opportunities to Bima Sakhis, in furtherance of their career by way of several performance-based incentives. Graduate Bima Sakhis, after completion of 5 years, may participate in the recruitment process for the post of Apprentice Development officers of LIC, upon fulfilling the eligibility criteria, he said. Apart from above, LIC pays stipend to Bima Sakhis for first 3 years from their appointment to support them build a life insurance agency career, he said. The stipend scheme is in addition to their commission pay-outs and is subject to certain performance parameters, he said, adding, the amount of the stipend ranges from Rs 7,000 per month in the first year to Rs 5,000 in the third year. PTI
Time of India
20 minutes ago
- Time of India
7/11 train blasts: Maharashtra govt to challenge acquittal of 12 accused in Supreme Court
The Maharashtra government will challenge the acquittal of 12 accused in the 7/11 Mumbai train bomb blasts case by the Bombay High Court in the Supreme Court , Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday. He described the high court verdict as shocking. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Public Policy Artificial Intelligence PGDM Cybersecurity Data Science Healthcare Leadership Product Management Data Analytics Operations Management Others Project Management Data Science MCA Digital Marketing CXO Degree Management others Design Thinking Technology Finance healthcare MBA Skills you'll gain: Economics for Public Policy Making Quantitative Techniques Public & Project Finance Law, Health & Urban Development Policy Duration: 12 Months IIM Kozhikode Professional Certificate Programme in Public Policy Management Starts on Mar 3, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 12 Months IIM Calcutta Executive Programme in Public Policy and Management Starts on undefined Get Details "I will go through the entire order. I have discussed with the lawyers, and the high court verdict will be challenged in the Supreme Court," he told reporters. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy the Dip: Top 5 Dividend Stocks with Growth Potential Seeking Alpha Read Now Undo Nineteen years after seven train blasts here killed more than 180 persons, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 accused, saying the prosecution utterly failed to prove the case and it was "hard to believe the accused committed the crime". The court allowed the appeals filed by the accused challenging their conviction and sentences imposed on them by a special court in 2015. Live Events A special bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak said the prosecution has failed to even bring on record the type of bombs used in the crime, and that the evidence relied on by it was not conclusive to convict the accused. The bench refused to confirm the death penalties imposed on five of the 12 accused and dismissed the confirmation appeals filed by the Maharashtra government.
