Ankit Saxena murder case: Delhi court sentences three to life imprisonment

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday handed life sentence to three convicts involved in the killing of Ankit Saxena, who was murdered in full public view in the national capital in 2018.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Sunil Kumar Sharma of Tis Hazari Court pronounced the order after having it reserved on March 2.

ASJ Sharma awarded life sentences to Akbar Ali, Shahnaz Begum, and Mohammad Salim, who were convicted on December 23 last year. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on each convict.

The Delhi Legal Service Authority (DLSA), had recently submitted the Victim Impact Assessment Report concerning Saxena, whose mother is the sole surviving member of the family following the demise of his father.

The report was pivotal for assessing compensation and the judge took it on record.

Delhi Police had earlier argued for maximum punishment for convicts for the offence. The defence counsel, however, had urged the court to take a lenient view on the sentence of the convicts.

During investigation of the case, it was revealed that Saxena was in a relationship with a girl of different religion and the perpetrators of the crime were the parents and maternal uncle of the girl, who opposed their interfaith relationship. They were later convicted.

The charges against the convicts include IPC Sections 302 (murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention). Moreover, Shahnaz Begum has also been convicted of voluntarily causing hurt.