6 get life imprisonment for severing rival's head and playing football with it
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Kasaragod: Six suspected goons were sentenced to life imprisonment for decapitating a rival and kicking his head around like a football in a playground in Kumbla, Kasaragod.
On Monday, December 23, Kasaragod District Additional Sessions (II) Judge K Priya found Siddique (39), Umar Farooq (29), Saheer (32), Niyas (31), Latheef (36), and Harish (29) guilty of the macabre revenge killing that took place on April 30, 2017. Two other accused were acquitted for lack of evidence.
The victim of the crime was Abdul Salam, a resident of Mogral in the Kumbla police station limits. The murder occurred at Mogral Maliankara Fort, where Salam was decapitated. The accused had also stabbed Naushad, who was with Salam, said Bekal DySP Manoj V V, who, as Kumbla Circle Inspector, investigated the case.
Public prosecutor G Chandramohan argued in the court that the murder was triggered by personal enmity. Salam had earlier tipped off the police about Siddique's sand smuggling, leading to police seizing his truck.
Later, around 3 am on April 29, 2017, Salam reportedly entered Siddique's house and threatened his family, including his mother. The revenge killing happened the following day, said DySP Manoj.
The accused were sentenced to life imprisonment under IPC Section 302, read with Section 149 (murder with common intention), along with a fine of Rs 1 lakh each. Additionally, they received three months' imprisonment under IPC Sections 143, 147, and 148 (unlawful assembly and rioting), two years' imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000 each under IPC Sections 324 and 326 (voluntarily causing hurt and grievous hurt with dangerous weapons), and five years' imprisonment under IPC Section 307 (attempt to murder).
The court directed that Rs 2 lakh from the fines be paid to Salam's injured friend Naushad and Rs 4 lakh to Salam's family. Prosecutor Adv Chandramohan said that the harsh punishment reflects the seriousness of the crime. The defence lawyers said they would appeal the verdict in the High Court within 30 days after receiving the detailed judgment.