Bettiah: A court in West Champaran district on Saturday sentenced a former clerk of the Mahila Swabhiman Battalion of Bihar Police, in Valmikinagar to life imprisonment for murdering a colleague and attempting to pass off the crime as a case of drowning.Additional district and sessions judge (ADJ)-IV Manvendra Mishra of the Bagaha civil court convicted Ajay Singh alias Krishna Kumar Singh under Section 103(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000. In default of payment, the convict will undergo an additional six months of rigorous imprisonment.According to the prosecution, Ajay Singh worked as a clerk in the Swabhiman Battalion, while Pooja Devi was employed as a cook. The two were acquainted through their workplace.Additional public prosecutor Mannu Rao said mobile tower location records, call detail records (CDR), electronic evidence and witness testimonies established that the accused and the victim were together before the incident. Pooja Devi’s body was recovered from a water body the following day.The prosecution told the court that postmortem and forensic examination ruled out drowning and confirmed death by strangulation. Investigators concluded that the body was later dumped in a canal in an attempt to portray the murder as an accidental drowning.The court also considered circumstantial and electronic evidence, including testimony that the accused was seen wearing wet, mud-stained clothes on the night of the incident and the recovery of the victim’s cellphone from his possession. It held that the chain of evidence proved the prosecution’s case beyond reasonable doubt.During the sentencing hearing, the defence sought leniency, citing the convict’s family responsibilities. The prosecution, however, argued that the crime was grave and warranted the maximum punishment. The court agreed, observing that stringent punishment was necessary to uphold public confidence in the justice system and deter such offences.The court directed that the fine amount be paid to the victim’s dependants and ordered the state government to provide financial support for the maintenance and upbringing of Pooja Devi’s children until they attain adulthood.
