Two brothers sentenced to life imprisonment for hate crime in Greater Noida

A district and sessions court in Surajpur sentenced two brothers to life imprisonment for murdering their cousin brother in 2021 in Greater Noida, prosecuting officials said on Thursday.
Anil, 28, and Sunil, 30, killed Raju, then 24 years old, over his alleged relationship with their sister, Roma, then 22 years old, they added. The deceased and convicts were residents of Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh.
The murder took place after Roma and Raju left home on December 19, 2021, said Nitin Tyagi, additional district government counsel (ADGC), who is the prosecuting official in the case. “They were travelling to Delhi via Noida in a bus when they were stopped by Anil and Sunil at Pari Chowk in Greater Noida,” he added.
“The brothers lived in a rented accommodation in Surajpur. They reached Pari Chowk when they received information that their sister had left home with Raju. At Pari Chowk, the brothers met them and took them to an isolated location in a park on the pretext of discussing the issue. There they attacked them with bricks and stones. Both Roma and Raju sustained critical injuries, and the brothers fled, assuming they were dead. Hours later Roma regained consciousness and managed to inform police with the help of a passerby,” he said.
Roma and Raju were rushed to a private hospital where Raju was declared dead. The police registered a case under sections of murder and attempt to murder and arrested the brothers from their Fatehpur house on December 21, 2021, said the official.
“During their interrogation, Anil and Sunil admitted to the murder and revealed they had taken Raju’s mobile phone and ₹2,550 from him, hiding them at their rented accommodation in Surajpur. The police recovered the phone and cash from the stated location,” said Tyagi.
During the trial, Roma testified that their families and local villagers strongly opposed her relationship with Raju. “This is why she and Raju left home and came to Greater Noida. This is also the reason why they attacked her and Raju,” said the prosecutor.
Raju’s father, Juggi Lal, also told the court that Anil and Sunil were responsible for his son’s death. “Anil and Sunil had made threats when Raju and Roma left the village. I also believe they killed my son,” he told the court.
Dr Rohit Tyagi, who conducted the medical examination of the deceased, said, “The deceased had multiple abraded contusion on face and body. His nose was broken…he had a wound on his chin and abrasion on neck and head. The cause of death is due to blood loss following injuries,” he told the court.
The defence lawyer, Mubeen Khan, argued that Anil and Sunil were wrongfully framed and should be acquitted due to a lack of evidence.
However, the court relied on the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses and the medical evidence to deliver its verdict. Rajesh Kumar Mishra, additional district and sessions judge, found the brothers guilty and convicted them on August 13. They were sentenced on August 14.
The court ruled, “Anil and Sunil are sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, ten years of imprisonment under Section 307 (attempt to murder), and three years of imprisonment under Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence).”
The court also imposed a fine of ₹35,000 on each accused and said that all sentences would run concurrently.