Rayees Manzoor Bhat of Rajouri Kadal was found guilty of ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’ by a trial court here in Srinagar and sentenced him to 10 years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000.
Rayees had hit Tariq Ahmad Bhat, a shopkeeper, with a cricket bat on December 3, 2011 in an attempt to force the shopkeepers in the area to close their shops and observe a shutdown. After being hit, Tariq was injured seriously and he succumbed to injuries a few days later in a hospital on December 14, 2011.
Rayees was arrested by the police on December 9, 2011, and subsequently booked under FIR No. 84/2011 under Section 307, 148, 149, 336 of the RPC. Subsequently, Section 302 RPC (Ranbir Penal Code) was added to the case after Tariq’s death a few days later.
“Holding him guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the death of Tariq, the court of first Additional Sessions Judge Srinagar SL Bhat sentenced Rayees to 10 years imprisonment” a prosecution official said.
Apart from imprisonment, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the youth, adding that he shall go an additional three months rigorous imprisonment in case he fails to deposit the fine.
The court said the period of imprisonment already undergone by the accused from December 9, 2011, when he was arrested, shall be set off against the period of imprisonment awarded to him.
As stated by the police in the chargesheet, Rayees along with a group of people was forcing shutdown in the Nowhatta and adjoining areas in downtown Srinagar on December 3, 2011. Incidentally, on that day no separatist group had called for the shutdown and the youth were acting on their own.
The case
The accused, Rayees Manzoor Bhat of Rajouri Kadal had hit Tariq Ahmad Bhat, a shopkeeper, with a cricket bat on December 3, 2011, in an attempt to force the shopkeepers in the area to observe a shutdown.
After being hit, Tariq was injured seriously and he succumbed to injuries a few days later.
(TNS)
