PRAYAGRAJ/MEERUT: The Allahabad High Court has exonerated four individuals, including two Pakistani nationals, who were previously convicted as terrorists and sentenced to death for the murder of eight CRPF personnel and injuring five others during a 2007 assault on their camp in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. The court instead found the four guilty under the Arms Act. The family of one of the deceased CRPF constables expressed their outrage. “How can terrorists who killed so many security personnel with automatic weapons be acquitted? It’s unbelievable. I lost my father, and now the killers walk free. Is this justice?” questioned Deepa Chaudhary (26), the daughter of CRPF constable Manveer Singh (35), who was among those killed in the 2007 incident. The court pointed to the prosecution’s inability to establish culpability in the crime. The Allahabad High Court bench remarked in its ruling that the “case would have had a different outcome had the investigation and prosecution been carried out by more skilled police officers.” The court highlighted the prosecution’s “failure to prove beyond a reasonable doubt” the defendants’ culpability in the crime. Justices Siddhartha Varma and Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra recognized the “magnitude” of the terrorist attack on the CRPF camp on the night of December 31, 2007, but stated they were “constrained” by the shortcomings of the prosecution, which prevented them from overturning the death sentences imposed by a trial court in 2019 on Mohd Sharif, Sabauddin, Imran Shahjad, and Md Farooq under sections 302 and 149 of the IPC. The bench instead found the four guilty under Section 25 (1-A) of the Arms Act, based on the confiscation of AK-47 rifles from them, and sentenced them to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 1 lakh each. A fifth convict, Jang Bahadur Khan, alias Baba, who is serving a life sentence in this case, was acquitted of terrorism charges but convicted for illegal possession of weapons. “The period of imprisonment already served by the appellants will be credited towards the sentence imposed on them,” the order states. While acknowledging that the CRPF camp was indeed attacked, “the shortcomings in the investigation ultimately led to the acquittal of the accused individuals.” “Establishing the principal offense beyond a reasonable doubt is a fundamental principle that permeates the fabric of criminal law. The state is entitled to appropriately address the deficiencies in the investigation and take action against the culpable police officers in accordance with the law,” states the order. Deepa’s mother, Pinki Devi, remarked, “The investigators were so negligent that they allowed such individuals to escape justice. I lost my husband, and I am still struggling to cope with the loss. Now this ruling – it is appalling.”
Four individuals on death row for the CRPF terror attack have been acquitted, with the victim’s relatives condemning the verdict; the court referenced the prosecution’s inability to establish culpability in the crime.
