Patna: A Delhi court on Saturday sentenced BJP MLA Raju Kumar Singh from Sahebganj in Muzaffarpur district to four years of simple imprisonment in connection with a celebratory firing incident in 2018 that claimed the life of 45-year-old architect, Archana Gupta, during a New Year’s Eve party in south Delhi.Special judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Court pronounced the sentence after holding Raju Kumar Singh guilty under Section 304 Part II of the Indian Penal Code for culpable homicide not amounting to murder with knowledge.The court also awarded him a concurrent two-month sentence under the Arms Act for violating the conditions of his weapon licence.The court imposed a fine of Rs 25 lakh on the MLA and directed the amount be paid as compensation to the victim’s husband. If he fails to deposit the fine within the stipulated period, he will have to undergo an additional three months of imprisonment.The conviction is also set to cost Singh his membership of the Bihar assembly under the Representation of the People Act. An assembly official said he would become the first member of the current Bihar assembly to lose his seat following conviction in a serious criminal case.The case relates to the intervening night of Dec 31, 2018, and Jan 1, 2019, when Singh hosted a New Year’s Eve celebration at a crowded farmhouse in Fatehpur Beri, south Delhi. During the event, he fired several rounds into the air from a licensed .22-bore pistol. One of the bullets struck Archana in the head while she was near the dance floor. She later died during treatment.On Friday, Singh sought release on probation, arguing he had no intention of causing death and had otherwise maintained a clean record as a public representative. The defence also sought leniency, citing a “lack of scientific knowledge” about a bullet’s parabolic trajectory.Rejecting the plea, the court described celebratory firing as a “scourge” in India and observed that a lawmaker turning lawbreaker sends a dangerous message to society.In its 97-page conviction order dated June 6, the court said reckless celebratory firing during festivities often leads to fatalities. It noted that several witnesses had identified Singh and that the evidence established he fired the fatal bullet that caused Archana’s death.While convicting Singh last month, the court gave the benefit of doubt to his wife, Renu Singh, and two others, acquitting them of charges related to destruction of evidence.
