IPS officer killing case: Gurjar awarded 10-yr sentence

A special CBI court today held the lone accused in IPS officer Narendra Kumar Singh's murder, in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district, guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
Special CBI Judge Anupam Srivastava sentenced Manoj Gurjar to 10-year jail term under IPC section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000, CBI lawyer A H Khan said.
30-year-old Singh, a 2009 batch IPS officer, was initially suspected to have been killed as part of a conspiracy by mining mafia but subsequent investigations had ruled this out.
The CBI court had in December last year rejected a petition filed by Keshavdev, father of Singh, seeking a trial on the more serious charge of murder against Gurjar.
 

The court also sentenced Gurjar to two years' of rigorous imprisonment under IPC section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) along with a fine of Rs 1,000.

After the judgement was pronounced, Gurjar's counsel Mahendra Maurya said they will file an appeal in the High Court against the judgement.
The convict, presently lodged in Indore jail, also requested the court to transfer him to Morena jail.
While rejecting the petition filed by Singh's father last year seeking trial for murder against Gurjar, the CBI court had said there was no need to amend the charge sheet filed by the CBI under section 304 of IPC.

Culpable homicide is a lesser offence than murder.
Keshavdev had alleged that CBI diluted the charges as the preliminary police report and FIR filed by Banmore police were under section 302 (murder).
Gurjar was accused of mowing down Singh when the latter tried to stop the tractor-trolley loaded with illegally mined stones and being driven by Gurjar in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh on March 8 last year.
Singh was posted as sub-divisional officer of police at Banmore at that time.