Kanpur: A court in Kanpur Nagar on Saturday convicted a man, identified as Vivek Kushwaha, in the 18-year-old murder case of a businessman and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 35,000 on the convict.However, additional district and sessions judge (ADSJ) Rakesh Kumar Tiwari acquitted co-accused Arun Kumar Singh due to lack of evidence.The court also issued a non-bailable warrant against the third accused, Ashwini Kumar Mishra, who remains absconding.The FIR in the case was registered in Feb 2008.As per the complaint, businessman Kamal Chugh had left for his factory on Feb 2, 2008, but did not reach there. He was later found dead in a hotel room.During the investigation, police found that the hotel room had been booked by Arun Kumar Singh and Ashwini Kumar Mishra, both residents of Prayagraj. To conceal their identities, they had allegedly booked the room under the names Abhishek Singh and Dinesh Singh.During the course of the investigation, Vivek Kushwaha’s alleged role in the murder came to light, following which all three accused were arrested by the police.Police later recovered the businessman’s car and mobile phone from their possession and filed a chargesheet against them.During the trial, the prosecution examined 11 witnesses in support of its case. After hearing arguments from both sides and examining the evidence on record, the court convicted Vivek Kushwaha and sentenced him to life imprisonment, while acquitting Arun Kumar Singh due to insufficient evidence.File of Ashwini Kumar is separated and further proceedings against him will take place after his arrest.
