An SC/ST court in Aligarh has sentenced two brothers, Virendra Singh and Hoshiyar Singh, both in their early 50s, to life imprisonment for murdering 26-year-old Dalit man Manoj Jatav in 2020 over a dispute involving ₹70.
The verdict was delivered on Friday and made public on Saturday. According to prosecution officer Chaman Prakash Sharma, the incident occurred on June 5, 2020, when Manoj and his cousin visited a shop in Sarkoriya village. The shopkeeper demanded ₹70 that Manoj allegedly owed, sparking an argument. Later that day, Virendra, Hoshiyar, and four others allegedly attacked Manoj’s home, killing him and injuring his uncle, Arun.
The six accused were charged under multiple IPC sections, including murder, rioting, unlawful assembly, attempt to murder, insulting the modesty of a woman, and criminal conspiracy, as well as provisions of the Arms Act and SC/ST Act. While five of them were granted bail in the following months, Virendra remained in custody.
After the trial, the court acquitted four co-accused due to lack of evidence but found Virendra and Hoshiyar guilty, sentencing them to life in prison and imposing a fine of ₹55,000 each. Both were taken into custody immediately after the verdict and sent to jail.
Sharma said, “After examining all evidence and witnesses, the court convicted Virendra and Hoshiyar and acquitted the rest. As the judgement was pronounced, the convicts were taken into police custody.”
