The Allahabad High Court has acquitted all of the defendants in a triple murder case in Mathura, including one who had been sentenced to death. The Court was distressed by the "shoddy" manner in which the investigation was carried out.
This was a case in which three killings were reported in a Mathura village on the night of June 18-19, 2018. Their remains were discovered in three locations.
The High Court heard two appeals against a single judgement issued by Additional Sessions Judge Mathura on March 31, 2021. Chandan Singh, Kali Charan alias Karuwa, Anil, Gajraj, Bhago Devi, and three other defendants were charged with violating section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
Chandan Singh was sentenced to death, while Kali Charan alias Karuwa, Anil, and Gajraj were sentenced to life in jail and fined Rs 50,000, while Bhago Devi was found not guilty.
The appellants' counsel, Advocate Vinay Saran, argued in the High Court that the murder occurred at midnight; the three bodies were discovered in various locations at a distance from one another; and there is no direct or circumstantial proof of the crime.
Furthermore, there is no indication that all three murders were committed as part of the same scheme. In the lack of any legally acceptable evidence linking the three killings to the defendants on trial, the accused-appellants are guilty of all three murders is absurd.
According to the attorney, the country-made weapon purportedly confiscated at Chandan Singh's request could not be linked to the bullet found from one of the deceased's corpse through the ballistic report. As a result, he cannot be found guilty of murder.
On June 19, 2018, at approximately 6.20 a.m., the Raya Police Station in District Mathura got information from a surveillance unit that three bodies had been discovered in Nagla Bharau hamlet, which is under PS Raya's jurisdiction. The police rushed to the scene after receiving this information, discovered the remains in three different locations, transported them to the mortuary, and conducted the inquest. G.P. Singh took up the investigation of the case after the FIR was filed.
The Sessions Court charged Chandan Singh, Kali Charan alias Karuwa, Anil, and Gajraj with offences punishable under Section 302/149 IPC, as well as Bhago Devi alias Bhagwati Devi with offences punishable under Section 302 read with Section 120 B IPC. Chandan Singh was prosecuted separately with violating Section 3/25 of the Arms Act. The trial began after the charges were denied.
The trial court concluded that the accused had motive for the crime because they were not interested in giving the deceased a piece of their fortune, based on the testimony of the prosecution witness.