Shweta Murder Case: Fast-Track Court Pronounces Death Sentence To Govind Singhal

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The fast-track court bench of Justice A Chakrabarty on Saturday pronounced death sentence to main convict Govind Singhal, and lifer for the convict’s mother – Kamala Devi Singhal – and his sister – Bhavani Singhal — in the sensational murder case of meritorious student Shweta Agarwal at Bharalumukh in the city in 2017.

Shweta Agarwal, was a brilliant student who stood first in the Higher Secondary examination (Commerce stream), conducted by the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council in 2015. Meanwhile, the family members of Shweta stated that the victim has got justice. The court also directed the District Legal Aid Service Authority to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation to the family of Shweta Agarwal under the ‘Victim Compensation Scheme’.

After the verdict, Public Prosecutor Abhijit Bhattacharyya told media that the death sentence has been served to Govind Singhal under Section 302 IPC. The court also observed during the trial that Shweta was murdered in cold blood in one of the rarest of such cases, he pointed out. Altogether 20 witnesses were produced during the trial. The Public Prosecutor also said that 13 signs of injuries were found on Shweta’s body, adding that she was burnt to death. Hence the court pronounced death sentence to the convict.

On July 30 (Tuesday), the fast-track court had convicted the trio in the gruesome murder case. And on August 1 (Thursday), the court reserved its verdict to pronounce the quantum of punishment to the convicts on Saturday.

Shweta Agarwal, a TDC fifth semester student of KC Das Commerce College in Guwahati, was murdered on December 4, 2017 by her “boy friend” Govind Singhal in his rented house at Bharalumukh here.

On that fateful day, Govind had taken Shweta to his rented residence on his bike. They had a quarrel in the house, where she reportedly died. The police submitted the charge sheet against Govind Singhal, his mother Kamala Devi Singhal and his sister Bhavani Singhal under Section 302/120(B)/ 201 for murder, conspiracy and destroying evidence.

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