Srinagar, Sep 30: A Sessions Court in Ganderbal district Wednesday convicted a man for committing murder of a person from whom he had taken a loan of Rs 80,000, after allegedly facing repeated demands for repayment in 2018.
Additional Sessions Judge, Ganderbal, Fozia Paul, convicted Muhammad Shafi Magray of Ganderbal’s Chundina for the murder of 43-year-old Muhammad Yousuf Khanday of Shallabugh. Magrey had taken a loan of Rs 80,000 from Khanday and also robbed the victim of cash, his ATM card and attempted to destroy evidence after committing the crime, according to prosecution.
The court convicted Magray under Sections 302, 379 and 201 of the erstwhile Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), while acquitting him of the charge under Section 364 of RPC for want of sufficient proof of abduction by force or deceitful inducement.
Section 302 of the former RPC specifies the punishment for committing murder while its section 379 prescribes punishment for committing theft. Section 201 of RPC deals with causing the disappearance of evidence.
Khanday went missing on May 31, 2018, after leaving his home for the J&K Bank branch at Chundina to withdraw cash. His father lodged a missing report the following day. Two days after his body was recovered on June 2 from an open marshy nursery field at Batagund, Shallabugh, bearing severe blunt-force injuries to the head.
The post-mortem examination attributed the death to cardiopulmonary arrest resulting from massive blunt-force head trauma. During investigation, call detail records showed that the last call involving the deceased’s phone was with Magray, while tower data placed both men in the same coverage sector around the relevant time.
The investigation revealed that Magray owed Khanday Rs 80,000. He had lured Khanday to an isolated field on the pretext of handing over a cheque and attacked him with a boulder. He also took Rs 11,700 in cash, an ATM card, identity documents, loan affidavits and the deceased’s mobile phone before attempting to destroy or conceal the evidence.
Subsequently, the boulder, pieces of the loan affidavits, the deceased’s skull cap and slippers, Rs 11,700 in cash and his ATM card from locations connected with the accused were recovered by the investigators during the investigation.
The court after assessing the evidence as a whole, held that the circumstances, including the alleged motive, scientific evidence, recoveries and post-crime conduct, formed a complete chain pointing to Magray’s guilt.
Furthermore, the Court held that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Magrey intentionally caused Khanday’s death, dishonestly removed his cash and ATM card and subsequently concealed or destroyed material evidence.
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