Ahmedabad: A sessions court in Dholka has sentenced five persons of the Bharwad community to life imprisonment under the IPC and the SC/ST Atrocities Act for murdering a former sarpanch of Loliya village over rivalry between the two families.According to the case details, six persons — Raghubhai Bharwad, Bhimabhai, Kalubhai, Mafabhai, Kuldeep and Jignesh — attacked Vijay Chavda twice at two different places on July 1, 2013. Chavda did not survive the second assault, which took place in front of his friends. An FIR was filed with the Koth police station, and an investigation was initiated. Chavda’s sister Pravinaben, who contested the village panchayat election a year later, was also killed in 2015. The trial in this case began in 2021 after a prolonged investigation. The prosecution examined 19 witnesses, whereas the accused presented one witness in their defence. During the pendency of the case, one of the accused, Raghubhai, died, and the trial against him was abated. Additional sessions judge N G Dave held five accused guilty of rioting and murder, as well as under the provisions of the SC/ST Atrocities Act, as Chavda was a member of a scheduled caste. While awarding life imprisonment to the five persons, the court said that the accused had “brutally murdered” a member of a weaker section of society and committed a “heinous crime”. “Therefore, considering the nature of the offence, the accused are not entitled to get the benefit of mitigating circumstances, and the court cannot impose less than the minimum sentence determined by the legislature under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code and SC/ST Act,” the court said.The court ordered Rs 6 lakh in compensation be paid to the victim’s mother.
