Mohali: Life term for labourer who killed farmhouse manager for scolding him

A 24-year-old labourer, who along with a juvenile, had murdered a farmhouse manager after being reprimanded for shoddy work in June 2020 will be spending life in prison.

“This court is of the considered view that prosecution has been able to prove its case beyond shadow of reasonable doubt by leading cogent and convincing evidence that it is accused Mukesh, who along with a child in conflict with law, who is being tried separately, has committed murder of deceased Balkar Singh,” observed the court of additional sessions judge Vikrant Kumar while awarding rigorous life imprisonment to the convict, who hails from Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh.

The victim, Balkar Singh, was brought to PGIMER, Chandigarh, on June 15, 2020, after being attacked with an axe. His son Ajit Singh had told police that his father had been working as a manager at Kahlon Farm in Nayagaon for 36 years.

On June 15, 2020, he scolded Mukesh for not working properly, leading to a heated argument.

Around 11.30 pm, Mukesh, along with a juvenile, attacked his father with an axe on the left side of his head. His father was taken to PGIMER, when he was declared comatose and succumbed to his injuries the next day.

Nayagaon police had initially booked and arrested three accused, including the juvenile. But later gave the clean chit to one Manish, while the other two were booked for murder. The juvenile is undergoing a separate trial.

Eyewitnesses’ account nailed accused

The defence counsel had submitted that Mukesh was falsely implicated in the present case, as no one saw him committing the crime and the case of the prosecution was based on hearsay evidence.

However, the staff at the said farmhouse blamed the accused for murder.

Ranjit Singh, a witness, told the court that he saw Mukesh coming out of victim’s room while abusing him in Hindi and on spotting him, ran outside. He, along with other staff, rushed the victim to PGIMER, Singh had revealed.

Another witness, Vidyanand Sethi, who worked at the said farm, told the court that he saw the accused running from the farm.

While convicting the accused, the court observed that the accused failed to prove any enmity on the part of the police or complainant for false implication. Moreover, from the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses, it had been duly proved on record that it was accused Mukesh, who along with a child in conflict with law, committed murder of deceased, the court added.

The court also observed that the accused persons had not explained why they ran from the Kahlon Farm after Balkar suffered injuries.

After the court held Mukesh guilty, he pleaded that he was poor and unmarried. Praying leniency, he submitted that his father had died and his mother was dependent on him.

The public prosecutor, however, sought death penalty to the accused, citing brutal murder. Rejecting death penalty, the court handed him rigorous imprisonment for life.