A local court here awarded life imprisonment to a former village head and his brother for abducting and murdering a cinema hall owner three years ago.
According to prosecution sources, Vridhi Narayan Pandey alias Jajjy, former pradhan of Jagatpur village, and his brother Nar Narayan Pandey had abducted Anil Kumar Pandey from his cinema hall in Gopiganj police station area on March 5, 2010, after he refused to pay extortion money.
When the family members launched a hunt and reached the carpet factory where Anil Kumar was kept, the brothers shot him dead and fled. The two accused later surrendered before the court.
After hearing both the sides, Additional District Judge Pramod Kumar Srivastava yesterday awarded life sentence to the duo, besides imposing a fine.
