Court Sentences Seven to Life for Double Murder Over Village Election Dispute

A court has issued life sentences to seven individuals for their involvement in a 2020 double murder case where a man and his son were killed over a dispute about the village head election. The sentence was delivered by District and Sessions Judge Jai Prakash Pandey, who also imposed a fine of Rs 1,01,500 on each convict.

The incident occurred when Santra Devi, along with her husband Hiralal and sons Tej Kumar Yadav and Vinod Yadav, visited Lalganj market for medicines. On their way home, they were stopped by two individuals, Surendra and Pradeep, who invited Hiralal and Tej Kumar Yadav to discuss the election matters at their house. This resulted in a heated argument during which the father and son were shot dead, prosecutor Priyadarshi Piyush Tripathi confirmed.

A total of eight people were originally charged, although one accused, Phenkhu Yadav, passed away during the trial. The prosecution successfully demonstrated the involvement of the remaining accused in the gruesome act, leading to this substantial judicial ruling.

(With inputs from agencies.)