Ghaziabad: An additional sessions court on Thursday sentenced Muradnagar man Salim, alias Gucci, to four years in prison on the basis of his voluntary confession that he fired on police personnel with an intention to kill. However, the court did not find a medical examination report of the cops he fired on in the case file.Judge Manish Nigam said, “The accused has been incarcerated since Nov 11, 2022, [3.5 years] in connection with the case. Therefore, considering the voluntary confession, the nature of the crime committed, the accused’s family and financial situation, and the possibility of reform, this court finds it justified to sentence him for a simple prison term of four years with a fine of Rs 1000 under Section 307/34 of the IPC.”The sentence shall be adjusted against the time already spent in custody, the court said.The matter is linked to an FIR registered on the basis of a complaint submitted by sub-inspector Anuj Kumar of Muradnagar police station, accusing Salim of firing on several policemen with the intent to kill. He said that on Nov 10, 2022, he, along with other policemen, was manning a checkpost when the accused and another man approached them on a motorbike from Surana Rawli road. When they were signalled to stop, they tried to flee instead and the pillion rider, Salim, opened fire on the police personnel. The police returned fire and injured Salim, after which he was arrested. A pistol was recovered from his possession.But during trial, the police witness admitted that there was no independent witness to corroborate the recoveries. Police also did not produce the pistol recovered from him.At this juncture, the accused decided to plead guilty and moved an application through the legal aid counsel. The court confirmed that the decision was voluntary and decided to pronounce him guilty on the basis of the confession.
