Bettiah: A court in Bagaha, West Champaran, on Friday sentenced the main accused in the murder case of Vijay Sahani to life imprisonment, holding him guilty of conspiring to kill the victim and attempting to destroy evidence.Additional Sessions Court-IV at Bagaha convicted Ashok Yadav and imposed a total fine of Rs 1.25 lakh. Additional District and Sessions Judge-IV Manvendra Mishra awarded life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh under Sections 302/34 read with 120(B) of the IPC. Yadav was also sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment and fined Rs 25,000 under Section 201 for destruction of evidence. The court directed that the recovered fine be paid to the victim’s dependants.According to the prosecution, Sahani went missing on May 1, 2022, after Yadav allegedly called him on the pretext of resolving a dispute over a pond. Before leaving home on his motorcycle, Sahani informed his wife about the meeting but never returned.APP Jitendra Bharti said call detail records played a crucial role in the investigation. The prosecution told the court that the accused exchanged more than 21 phone calls on the day of the incident, while their communication on normal days was negligible.Investigators alleged that Sahani was strangled as part of a pre-planned conspiracy. His body was later buried near a river in the Gobardhana forest, while his motorcycle was hidden under grass and foliage. Police recovered both during the investigation.The court accepted a chain of 14 circumstantial pieces of evidence, including call records and tower location data. Five other accused, including Sahani’s sister Geeta Devi, were convicted and sentenced in the case on September 5. The court described the crime as heinous and detrimental to society.
