Pune court awards two men five years' rigorous imprisonment for beating truck driver to death

A sessions court in Pune has sentenced two men to five years' rigorous imprisonment each and a fine of Rs 5,000 each for brutally beating a truck driver over the trivial matter of his truck hitting the mirror of a bus. During the assault, the driver's head struck a cement block; he suffered internal injuries and died.

The convicts are Amol Madhukar Gadekar (40, of Varane, Satara) and Aslam Iqbal Mulla (31, of Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur). Additional Sessions Judge H. M. Bhosale delivered the verdict.

The incident took place on the night of May 31, 2018, in the Daripul area near the Katraj tunnel. Truck owner Ibrahim Sayyed had filed the complaint at Bharati Vidyapeeth police station. The mirror of the accused men's traveller bus had struck the truck of the deceased driver, Lalji Pal. In the dispute that followed, the accused kicked and punched Pal and slammed his head on a cement block, leaving him seriously injured. He died during treatment.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Nitin Konghe argued the case for the state. The testimony of the police personnel and doctors who reached the spot was important. What Pal had told the complainant and the police orally before his death was treated by the court as a dying declaration. As the accused did not have a premeditated intention to murder, the court convicted both of culpable homicide not amounting to murder instead of murder.

The court also expressed displeasure over the conduct of the police. The post-mortem report had reached the police, yet the investigating officers did not produce it in court. However, the testimony of the doctors who conducted the post-mortem made it clear that the death was caused by the head injury. The court therefore said the accused could not be given the benefit of lapses in the investigation.

Konghe argued that hitting a bus mirror could not justify an assault. The accused had legal remedies available but chose violence. Such incidents are increasing, so a stiff sentence is necessary. The defence, on the other hand, said the accused had no intention to kill and have the responsibility of supporting their families. Taking these points into account, the court sentenced both to five years' rigorous imprisonment.