Lucknow: A local court on Tuesday sentenced three men to life imprisonment for murder, after 115 days of trial. This is perhaps the first time in UP that three people were handed life terms under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 for murder, police said.District and sessions judge, Lucknow, Malkhan Singh, convicted three — Sonu (28), Rahul alias Shiva (25) and Dhanraj (20) — under the charges of 103(1) (murder), 309(4) (robbery), 317(2) (theft), read with sections 61(2)(a) (criminal conspiracy) and 3(5) (common intention) of BNS-2023, and imposed a cumulative penalty of Rs 1.35 lakh on them.The court further directed that two-thirds of the total fine amount must be paid as compensation to the wife of the deceased, Lalaram (40).Lalaram, a small-time roadside vendor from Sitapur, was bludgeoned to death near Vikasnagar crossing on Dec 30, 2025 over a dispute involving ₹10,000 before being robbed of ₹7,240.“Police cracked the case within 13 days by analysing footage from 1,289 CCTV cameras, reconstructing a 40-km digital route and using forensic facial comparison and other scientific evidence to arrest the three accused,” said Alok Kumar Singh, who investigated the case and is also the Vikasnagar SHO.He said following the collection and analysis of scientific and electronic evidence, a detailed charge sheet was filed before the court on Feb 24, 2026, just 55 days after the registration of the case.Singh said the investigation linked another robbery of one Deepu Dwivedi. Police said comparative analysis of evidence established the role of the accused.DGC criminal, Rakesh Pandey, said examination of prosecution witnesses began on April 6, 2026, and the court reserved its judgment on July 17.On July 29, the district and sessions court held the trio guilty under various provisions of the BNS.“The case is a model example of technology and evidence-based investigation. The investigation combined CCTV analytics, electronic evidence, forensic science, facial comparison, digital route reconstruction and circumstantial evidence to identify unknown offenders and secure their conviction,” said DCP, east, Deeksha Sharma.
