New Delhi:
A Delhi court has sent a police constable along with his friend to one year rigorous imprisonment for beating up a couple and a woman using axe to recover the money given to them.
The court rejected Head Constable Sunil Kumar's plea for release on probation on the ground that he is the only earning member of the family and instead slapped a fine of Rs 15,000 on him and his friend.
"In my opinion, keeping in view the circumstances of the case, it is not a fit case to grant benefit of probation," Sanjay Kumar, Additional Sessions Judge said, adding that Sunil, who is serving in Delhi Police, is not expected to behave in such manner and use axe to cause injuries.
Sunil along with his friend Bijender Kumar in July 2004 went to the victim Samar Singh's house and started abusing his wife and sister-in-law over a financial dispute with them.
The victim's wife told the court that on resistance both the accused went back and returned at around 10 pm with an axe and inflicted blows on her and sister-in-law and then started beating Samar badly. The three were rushed to hospital by the police.
During trial, the accused policeman tried to escape the charges producing witnesses who said he was not present at the spot of crime and that it was a fight between Samar Singh, his family members and their relatives.
The court, however, found the defence of the witnesses inconsistent and preferred to believe the victim's side of the story. The court convicted the accused and sent them to one year jail.