Five Family Members Convicted in Head Constable Murder Case
The case was subsequently converted to a murder investigation and transferred to Krishna Lanka police station, where inspector P Chandrasekhar registered it as Crime No. 217/2017 under Sections 302 and 201 read with 34 of the IPC.
Vijayawada: Five members of a family were convicted for the 2016 killing of Shaikh Mohammad Ayub, a head constable, whose death was initially made to appear as a case of road accident.
The 7th additional district sessions judge, B Abraham, delivered the judgment on Thursday.
The court sentenced four accused to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 10,000 each, while the fifth accused received five years of RI with an identical fine.
The convicted individuals were Shaik Nilofar Sultana (35), Shaik Saddam Hussain (32), Shaik Imran Hussain (31), Shaik Zakirunnisa (53), and Shaik Nazia Sultana (33), all residents of Vijayawada.
The incident occurred on Dec 19, 2016, when a religious ceremony was held at the family's residence in Vijayawada. A quarrel erupted between the deceased Ayub and his family members over food arrangements.
During the heated exchange, Ayub verbally abused his relatives and sent them away.
When the family returned home, another altercation broke out against the backdrop of ongoing property disputes. In a fit of rage, Ayub's eldest daughter, Nilofar Sultana, struck him hard on the head with a bat, causing his death.
The initially stunned family members later conspired to make the murder appear as a road accident. They placed Ayub's body in a car, drove it to Velagaleru in G Konduru Mandal, and dumped it on the roadside.
On Dec 21, 2016, complainant Shaik Saddam Hussain filed a complaint at G Konduru police station claiming his father had died in a road accident. The police initially registered the case as Crime No. 199/2016 under Section 304A of the IPC.
During investigation, an eyewitness account from Ayub's father and CCTV footage from the surrounding area revealed that the incident was actually a murder orchestrated by some of the family members.
The case was subsequently converted to a murder investigation and transferred to Krishna Lanka police station, where inspector P Chandrasekhar registered it as Crime No. 217/2017 under Sections 302 and 201 read with 34 of the IPC.
Following a thorough investigation, Chandrasekhar and his team arrested all five accused on April 13, 2017. They were produced before the court, and a charge sheet was filed.