Sarfaraz convicted of Bahraich violence hanged, 9 get life imprisonment! Ram Gopal Mishra’s murderers finally punished

Bahraich: The case of communal violence that took place during the immersion of Durga idol on 13 October 2024 in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh reached the court. In this violence, 22-year-old Ram Gopal Mishra was shot dead. While sentencing the culprits, the court of Additional Sessions Judge Pawan Kumar Sharma has given death sentence to the main accused Sarfaraz. The remaining 9 convicts were sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment.

Full details of the incident

This incident happened in Maharajganj market of Mahsi police station area. The controversy started due to the DJ playing loud music in the immersion procession. When the matter escalated, stone pelting and firing took place. Ram Gopal Mishra was shot, due to which he died on the spot. This violence was going to instigate communal tension. The police immediately took action and arrested many people. Regarding this matter, CM Yogi Adityanath had given strict instructions that the culprits should be given strict punishment.

Court decision and guilty

On December 9, the court convicted 10 out of 13 accused. Three were acquitted due to lack of evidence. The culprits include Sarfaraz, Abdul Hameed, Faheem, Talib, Saif, Javed, Zeeshan, Nankau, Shoaib and Maroof. Sarfaraz was hanged considering him to be the main culprit of the murder. The remaining nine received life imprisonment. Even a fine of Rs 1 lakh was imposed on each culprit. The names of the acquitted accused are Khurshid, Shakeel and Afzal.

trial process

The trial went very fast. Chargesheet was filed on 11 January 2025. Charges were framed on 18 February and 12 witnesses gave statements. The decision was reserved on 21 November. The total sentence given was 13 months and 26 days. Government lawyer Pramod Singh called it an example of judicial process.

The accused were booked under sections 103(2) of BNS i.e. murder in mob lynching, 191(2), 191(3), 190, 109(2), 249, 61(2) and section 30 of the Arms Act. Let us tell you that there are provisions ranging from death sentence to 5 years imprisonment.

family reaction

Ram Gopal’s wife Roli Mishra said, "Hang my husband’s murderers, only then will you get justice. The three acquitted are also guilty." The family had demanded death penalty for all. Roli said that her husband’s life could have been saved due to the negligence of the police. After the verdict, the family heaved a sigh of relief, but expressed anger over the acquitted accused.