Hazaribag: A local court on Friday sentenced all six accused in the 2024 Ichak double murder case to life imprisonment for killing Rahul Mehta, 30, and his wife, Pooja Yadav, 28, allegedly over a dowry dispute.Additional district and sessions judge-I Tarun Kumar also imposed a fine of Rs 3.5 lakh on each convict. The convicts are Rahul’s father, Ishwar Prasad Mehta; his uncle, Bablu Mehta; and their associates Boby Kumar, Vicky Kumar, Ashish Pandey and Sonu Kumar Sinha. All six were present in court when the verdict was pronounced.Public prosecutor Sudhir Kumar said the court awarded life imprisonment under Sections 302 and 120B of the IPC. Each convict was also sentenced to three years of imprisonment under Section 201, concerning the disappearance of evidence, and fined Rs 50,000. The fine will be paid to the victims’ family.During sentencing arguments, the defence contended that the case did not fall under the “rarest of rare” category and therefore did not merit the death penalty. The prosecution sought the maximum punishment, saying the couple had been brutally killed and their family line wiped out.The prosecution examined 19 witnesses, including complainant Ram Murat Yadav and investigating officer Mohammad Shahid Raza.According to the complaint, Yadav, a resident of Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, alleged that Rahul’s family had demanded Rs 20 lakh to accept the marriage. After he failed to pay, the couple were allegedly assaulted, forced out and pressured to separate. On June 15-16, 2024, they were allegedly set ablaze while semi-conscious.
