A Delhi court on Saturday convicted a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Sahibganj in Bihar in the case of celebratory shooting inside his farm in south Delhi’s Fatehpur Beri on New Year’s Eve in 2018, leading to the death of a 45-year-old woman, and ordered the MLA taken into custody.
Special Judge Vishal Ghogni of Ross Avenue Courts convicted MLA Raju Kumar Singh under Section 304 (II) of the Indian Penal Code (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and under Section 30 of the Arms Act (punishment for contravention of license or rule).
The matter has been reserved for the June 9 hearing for arguments on the merits of the sentence. The maximum penalty for these crimes is three years’ imprisonment.
Meanwhile, the court acquitted Singh’s wife, Renu Singh, and two others of the crime under Section 201 (destruction of evidence), on the basis of lack of physical evidence. A detailed order is awaited.
Singh, who was previously an MLA with the Janata Dal (United) before defecting to the BJP, during a New Year’s Eve gathering at his farmhouse at Rose Farm in Ambedkar Colony, fired shots in the air, wounding the complainant’s wife, Archana Gupta. She was taken to hospital where she died during treatment.
A case was registered at Fatehpur Beri police station and police recovered a .315 rifle and live ammunition from Singh’s farm. The police then added IPC Section 302 (murder) to the FIR.
The MLA, his driver and co-accused Hari Singh fled the scene and were eventually arrested from Fazil Nagar in Uttar Pradesh.
Witness statements later revealed the names of Singh’s wife, Renu Singh, and two others, Ramendra Singh and Rana Singh, who the court said cleaned the blood from the stain after the incident.
A Delhi court on October 30, 2023, filed charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against Singh and acquitted him of murder charges, after noting that he had no intention of causing anyone’s death.
The court said there was prima facie material to show that the MLA, under the influence of alcohol, fired into the air into the gathering resulting in the deceased Archana Gupta being shot in the head, and he was “aware” that his firing could hit anyone at the party.
The court also brought charges of destroying evidence against his wife and three others, noting that they helped “clean the dance floor” of the deceased’s blood and caused the evidence to disappear. The proceedings against Singh’s driver were relaxed after his death during the trial.
The prosecution was represented by Additional Public Prosecutor Manish Rawat, while the MLA was represented by advocate Rajeev Mohan.
