Thane: MCOCA court sentences four to life imprisonment for killing two in bar

A special antiorganised crime court in Maharashtras Thane district has sentenced four men to life imprisonment after convicting them for killing two persons in a country liquor bar and looting valuables 13 years ago reported news agency PTIIn his order on Wednesday Special Judge MCOCA Amit M Shete also imposed a fine of Rs 1105 lakh on each of the four convicts who belong to the Jhabua district of Madhya PradeshThe four in their 30s were given the life sentence under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act MCOCA and Indian Penal Code IPC on three different counts which will run concurrentlySpecial Public Prosecutor Sangeeta Phad told the court that the four men barged into a country liquor bar in Boisar on February 16 2010 and fired indiscriminately killing the owner and another person They also looted valuables worth over Rs 169 lakhWhile the defence pleaded for leniency on the grounds that the four have already spent more than 10 years behind bars the court rejected the contention It accepted the prosecutions argument that the four committed two brutal murders that too by dangerous weaponsIn his order the judge said The accused have committed series of similar kind of offences of robbery dacoity as well as dacoity with murderThe court said the four deserve life punishment under IPC section 396 committing murder during dacoity and under MCOCA section 3 organised crimeAccording to the special public prosecutor 17 witnesses were examined to prove the case against the fourThe court also directed that a compensation of Rs 25 lakh each be given to the kin of the deceased on deposit of the fine amount by the convictsMeanwhile a man in jail for more than six years following arrest in a godown theft case has been sentenced to six years simple imprisonment by a court in Maharashtras Thane district reported PTIThe 23yearold accused Deepak Rajendra Shah shall be given set off under Section 428 of the Code of Criminal Procedure CrPC for the period of detention which he has already undergone in jail from June 1 2016 Additional sessions judge D B Bangde said in the order passed on May 29 reported PTISection 428 of the CrPC pertains to period of detention undergone by the accused to be set off against the sentence or imprisonmentThe court also imposed a fine of Rs 2000 on the accused as per the order a copy of which was made available on MondayAdditional public prosecutor S H Mhatre told the court on the intervening night of May 19 and 20 2016 Shah along with other coaccused trespassed into a godown in Bhiwandi area of Thane and stole 39 sacks of yarn worth Rs 405600The other coaccused were in the habit of receiving the stolen property the court was toldThe judge in his order said The accused is produced before the court today for framing of the charge I have framed the charge against him The accused voluntarily pleaded guilty to the chargeTherefore I hold the accused guilty for offences punishable under Indian Penal Code sections 457 lurking housetrespass or housebreaking by night in order to commit offence and 380 theft the judge saidThe accused submitted that he is a labourer and his familys financial condition is very poor He is the sole earning member of his family There is no one to look after his family the court notedOn perusal of the record it is revealed the accused was arrested on June 1 2016 The accused has been in jail for a period of more than six years till today the judge saidThe trial could not be commenced earlier Now the accused is voluntarily pleading guilty to the charge against him In my opinion these circumstances can be considered as mitigating factors while convicting the accused by imposing lesser punishment the court saidWith inputs from PTI