Man sentenced to life imprisonment for killing teen in UP's Kushinagar

Kushinagar (UP), Nov 5 (PTI) A court in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for killing a teenager by slitting his throat Additional District and Sessions Judge (Fast Track Court-I) Parmeshwar Prasad on Tuesday convicted Gulab, a resident of Mathauli Bazaar, and sentenced him to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 34,000, Assistant District Government Counsel (Crime) Sanjeev Kumar Singh said.

In case of non-payment of the fine, the convict will have to undergo an additional two years of simple imprisonment, Singh said.

The co-accused in the case, who was a friend of the deceased and a minor at the time, is facing trial before the Juvenile Justice Board.

According to the prosecution, the victim's father had alleged that the accused had taken money from him on the pretext of getting his son a job in the Army. After receiving the money, the accused detained the boy and later killed him.

The case dates back to April 3, 2005, when village watchman Dinesh Prasad of Mathauli Bazaar lodged a complaint at the Kaptanganj police station stating that the body of an unidentified teenager was found in a wheat field in the village.

During the investigation, Vinay Shankar Gupta, a resident of Tamkuhiraj, identified the body as that of his 17-year-old son, Aniruddh, a Class 11 student at Lokmanya Inter College in Seorahi.

Gupta told police that his son had befriended another boy from the Ramkola area when both appeared for their high school exams the previous year.

A month before the incident, the friend visited their house and claimed that his elder brother was serving in the Army and that he could help Aniruddh get recruited as well, demanding Rs 70,000 for the purpose, he said.

Believing him, Gupta initially gave Rs 40,000, and on April 2, 2005, he sent Aniruddh with the remaining amount to meet the man at a PCO in Ramkola. There, Gulab -- the maternal uncle of the friend -- was also present. After taking the money, Gulab asked Gupta to leave and kept Aniruddh with him.

Aniruddh was later found murdered, his throat slit. Following investigation, police filed a chargesheet in the court, which convicted Gulab and awarded him the life sentence, while the case against the minor co-accused is still pending before the Juvenile Board, the lawyer said. PTI COR KIS NB NB