SRINAGAR: The Court of the Principal Sessions Judge, Anantnag, has sentenced Showkat Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Batpora Khanabal, to life imprisonment after convicting him in the 2019 murder of gas tanker driver Naseeb Singh in the Qazigund killing case arising out of FIR No. 09/2019 of Police Station Qazigund.
Principal Sessions Judge Tahir Khurshid Raina convicted the accused under Section 302 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), holding that the prosecution had proved the charge beyond reasonable doubt through eyewitness, medical, forensic and circumstantial evidence.
According to the judgment, the case was initially registered as a road accident under Sections 279, 337 and 427 of the RPC after a gas tanker plunged into a deep gorge near Glass Tower on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway on January 17, 2019. However, during the investigation, an eyewitness disclosed that the incident was not an accident but a deliberate assault, prompting the investigating agency to invoke Section 302 of the RPC.
The Court held that the accused, while driving a 12-tyre truck, developed a grudge after his vehicle was allegedly damaged in a collision with the gas tanker. It found that he overtook the tanker near Glass Tower, forced it to stop, dragged driver Naseeb Singh out of the vehicle and repeatedly assaulted him with an iron rod. The victim was left critically injured on the roadside while the unattended tanker rolled into a deep gorge. He later succumbed to his injuries during treatment.
The judgment records that the prosecution relied on the testimony of eyewitness Mehraj Ahmad Naik, whose statement was recorded before a Magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The prosecution also produced evidence including a Test Identification Parade (TIP), recovery of the iron rod at the instance of the accused, medical and forensic evidence, call detail records placing the accused at the scene, seizure of the offending truck and other corroborative material.
The Court accepted the medical evidence showing that the deceased sustained multiple grievous injuries resulting in massive haemorrhage and cardio-respiratory arrest. It noted that the doctors who conducted the post-mortem examination had opined that the repeated blows inflicted with the recovered iron rod were sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report also ruled out poisoning.
While awarding the sentence, the Court observed that the offence resulted in the loss of an innocent human life and warranted stern punishment. However, after weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, it held that the case did not fall within the “rarest of rare” category warranting the death penalty.
The Court noted that the convict was a first-time offender, belonged to a modest socio-economic background, had worked as a driver before his arrest, had an aged mother, a wife and three minor children dependent on him, and had maintained satisfactory conduct during nearly five years of incarceration. It further observed that the prosecution had failed to establish that he was beyond the possibility of reformation and rehabilitation.
Accordingly, the Court sentenced Showkat Ahmad Bhat to imprisonment for life under Section 302 of the RPC and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000. In default of payment of the fine, the convict will undergo further simple imprisonment as provided in the sentencing order. The Court directed that the fine amount, if recovered, be paid to the legal heirs of the deceased.
Recognising the financial hardship suffered by the victim’s family, the Court also recommended payment of Rs 5 lakh as compensation under the Jammu and Kashmir Victim Compensation Scheme, 2019, and directed the Legal Services Authority to process and release the amount expeditiously.
The prosecution was conducted by Public Prosecutor Ab Rashid Mir.
The Court also directed that a copy of the judgment and sentence be forwarded to the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in accordance with law and informed the convict of his statutory right to file an appeal within the prescribed limitation period. (KNC)
