By IANS,
New Delhi : A Delhi court Saturday sentenced Lt. Col. (retired) S.J. Choudhary to life inmprisonment for murdering automobile dealer Krishan Sikand in the capital’s upscale Sundar Nagar locality.
Additional Sessions Judge Mamta Sehgal held Choudhary guilty under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code as well as sections 3 and 4 of the Explosives Act. He was also fined Rs.8,000.
The court had Monday convicted Choudhary, now 72, for sending a parcel bomb that killed Sikand Oct 2, 1982. After the arrest and the filing of the charge-sheet, the trial began May 31, 1984 and the process of recording evidence continued for 15 years.
Despite all odds, the victim’s 98-year-old father H.D. Sikand continued to make attempts for a speedier probe.
During the prolonged trial, the family approached the Delhi High Court several times to speed up the proceedings. The case involved documents running into a few thousand pages.
The prosecution had alleged that Chaudhary was angry because his divorced wife had decided to move in with Sikand and the two had planned to get married.
The CBI had also alleged that the bomb used in the murder was made in Pakistan and was seized by the Indian Army following its victory in the 1971 war.