Three awarded lifer in Pappu Sindhi murder case

Vadodara, Dec 1 (UNI) A fast-track court here has sentenced three people to life imprisonment in the sensational Pappu Nandkishore Sindhi murder case registered in the aftermath of communal violence in the city during 'Moharram' in February, 2004.

Of the ten people accused in the murder case, seven were acquitted order for lack of evidence while three -- Yakub Diwan, Liaqat Hussain and Kalumiyan Sheikh were convicted for rioting and murder and also fined Rs 2300 each.

Additional sessions judge V C Charan, who delivered the verdict yesterday, issued warrants against two of the convict-absconders -- Liaqat and Kalumiyan, both residents of Bawamanpura.

According to the prosecution case, on February 26, 2004, Pappu Sindhi (25) was brutally assaulted by a Muslim mob at Bawamanpura under the sensitive Panigate police station area when he was going to his shop on a scooter along with his Muslim friend Mohammad Rafiq.

While Rafiq managed to escape, Pappu was hacked to death on the spot. Panigate police, however, filed a chargesheet for rioting and murder against ten people after eight were arrested in connection with the incident.

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