By IANS,
New Delhi : A city court Tuesday convicted a property dealer of murdering his wife, within four months of marriage in 2001, with the help of a contract killer.
The court held Vijay Pal and hired killer Vinod guilty for the murder of Rajni.
Additional Session Judge Vinod Kumar held them guilty under section 302 (murder), 397 (robbery) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code for killing the 26-year-old.
The court, however, acquitted another accused for want of evidence. The sentence against the two convicts would be pronounced Wednesday.
According to the prosecution, Rajni was shot dead in a Honda city car by Pal and the hired killer while she was returning from her parents’ house Aug 13, 2001.
Pal, who was a property dealer in Aya Nagar here, had gone to his father-in-law’s house at Wazirpur, to bring his wife back.
Defending himself, Pal had contended that his wife was shot by Vinod during an attempted robbery.
According to the prosecution, Vinod and another accomplice were waiting at the Olof Palme Marg in Vasant Vihar on the night of the incident. At a pre-decided spot, he entered the car and shot Rajni on the forehead from close range. As Rajni collapsed, Pal shot her again in the chest. Then he shot himself in thigh.
To give credence to the robbery theory, Pal removed some jewellery from his wife’s body and handed it over to Vinod, who then left the scene along with the other accomplice, by the same name.
Pal had contracted Vinod for Rs.50.000, of which Rs.10,000 was paid in advance.
Prosecution had said that Pal was a womaniser and had affairs even after his marriage.
During interrogation, Pal disclosed that he had earlier also tried to kill his wife April 1, 2001.
Pal had taken Rajni in a Maruti car to Gurgaon and near Manesar drove down the wrong carriageway, which resulted in a head-on collision with a truck.
Rajni had sustained several fractures in the limbs and ribs but Pal escaped with superficial injuries.