Jaipur: A sessions court in Bhilwara on Thursday convicted Devi Lal for the 2021 murder of an elderly couple and sentenced him to life imprisonment for each of the two killings, holding that the prosecution had proved his guilt through a chain of circumstances and blood evidence.Sessions Judge Abhay Jain convicted Devi Lal under the relevant IPC provisions in the murder case registered at Hamirgarh police station on Aug 13, 2021. The court also sentenced him for house-trespass and possession/use of an illegal weapon.According to the prosecution, Naru Keer and his wife Kanku Bai had gone to their courtyard around 6 am on Aug 12, 2021, to milk cattle. When they did not return, their son Kishan Lal went looking for them and found both lying dead in a pool of blood.Public prosecutor R S Kanawat argued that the prosecution had established the case beyond reasonable doubt through oral and documentary evidence. Complainant’s counsel Gopal Lal Choudhary supported the prosecution case, citing witnesses who allegedly saw Devi Lal entering the courtyard with a sharp weapon and later fleeing on a motorcycle in bloodstained clothes.Defence counsel Shyam Singh Chundawat argued that the case was based entirely on circumstantial evidence and that there was no eyewitness to the murders.“There are many discrepancies regarding the timing of death and the absence of fingerprints on the weapon. Thus, we sought acquittal on benefit of doubt,” Chundawat said.Rejecting the defence arguments, Judge Jain held that the prosecution had established the accused’s guilt through the circumstances, including recovery of the weapon and blood evidence.Calling the manner of the killings “gruesome”, the court said the accused “deserves no leniency from this court”.The court imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 for each murder and Rs 5,000 each for two other offences related to violation of the Arms Act.
