New Delhi: A fast-track court of Varanasi has sentenced 16 men to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of a local BJP leader during a violent clash over public drinking in 2022, defense counsel Prem Prakash Gautam confirmed Friday.
The court of Justice Kuldeep Singh on Thursday convicted the accused under charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, and rioting before announcing the sentence. The verdict comes nearly three years after BJP leader Pashupati Nath Singh was fatally assaulted for objecting to youths consuming alcohol outside a liquor shop near his residence on October 12, 2022.
According to trial details, the situation escalated rapidly when Singh’s intervention prompted a mob of 30-40 people to attack him with iron rods and sticks. His son Rajan Singh, who rushed to help, also sustained severe injuries in the assault.
“Both victims were rushed to hospital where Pashupati was declared dead, while Rajan underwent months of treatment,” Gautam told reporters. The surviving son later became the prime mover in seeking justice for his father.
Police had initially named 18 suspects in the case, with 16 being apprehended and now convicted. Proceedings against the two remaining accused continue separately.
The court’s decision marks closure to a case that highlighted tensions over public drinking in the area, while also demonstrating the judicial system’s expedited handling of violent crimes through fast-track mechanisms.
