‘Democracy based on ballot, not bullet’: 2 get death for 2010 murder over poll rivalry

Agra: Observing that “democracy is based on the ballot, not the bullet”, a Muzaffarnagar court awarded the death penalty to former village head Pramod Singh (62) and his aide Sahdev Singh (55) for murdering a farmer by pumping five bullets into him over panchayat poll rivalry 16 years ago.

The court also imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on each convict, with failure to pay inviting an additional three years of imprisonment.Delivering the verdict, additional district and sessions judge (Fast Track Court-3) Ravi Kumar Diwakar also observed that “panchayats are the first step of India’s democratic system and electoral disputes cannot be resolved through violence.”The court convicted the two on June 30 and pronounced the quantum of punishment on Monday.

It also directed the SSP to examine alleged lapses in the police investigation and take action against the officers concerned.The case dates back to Aug 24, 2010, when 60-year-old farmer Rajbir Singh was shot five times in his field in Mandi village, under Titawi police station limits in Muzaffarnagar district.According to additional district govt counsel (ADGC) Kuldeep Kumar, Pramod Singh was the village pradhan at the time and had orchestrated the killing to eliminate Rajbir as a potential challenger in the upcoming elections.

While the defence argued that the accused had been framed due to local party politics, the prosecution established its case by examining eight key witnesses.Of the four accused originally identified by police, two others — Amit Sharma and Vipin Sharma — were killed in a police encounter in 2011, before the chargesheet was filed in 2012.