Bengaluru: A local court held eight men guilty of hacking a 32-year-old man to death after he objected to some of them smoking in public, and sentenced them to life imprisonment.The convicts are Venkatesh M, B Vijay alias Kari Vijay, R Vinod Kumar, Gerald Arokiya Raj, R Kiran alias Dikky, I Vikram, James Kumar and S Vijay alias Kotanguchhi, all residents of Viveknagar, central Bengaluru.Public prosecutor Mahalingappa Uttura said the speciality of the case was five witnesses identifying the eight accused during identification parade without making any mistake. “The parade was done thrice at Central Prison in the presence of a tahsildar. Each time, the accused were made to stand in a different line and in different orders. However, the five witnesses — the victim’s mother, wife and three friends — identified the accused correctly. Such flawless identification and their statements before the court helped in securing the conviction,” Mahalingappa said.The incident had taken place at Ashoknagar in Nov 2017 when Harish was standing outside his house and noticed Gerald Arokiya Raj, James Kumar and a juvenile smoking. He shouted at them and warned of legal action if they didn’t stop smoking. The three left the place but returned with other accused, armed with machetes and other sharp objects.They attacked Harish, who was standing with three friends. Hearing the commotion, his mother and wife came out and witnessed the murder.
