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Updated: Feb 08, 2019 23:49 IST

A local court on Friday awarded life imprisonment to all seven men convicted of killing two cousins in Kawal village in one of the series of incidents related to the 2014 riots in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district.

The seven, identified as Muzammil, Mujassim, Furkan, Nadeem, Jahangir, Afzal and Iqbal, had been convicted on Wednesday of killing cousins Gaurav and Sachin on August 27, 2013.

A fine of Rs 2 lakh each was also imposed on the convicts, district government counsel (DGC)(criminal) Rajeev Sharma and senior lawyer Anil Jindal said. Besides life imprisonment, they were also awarded two years in prison and a fine of Rs 2,000 each under section 147 of the Indian Penal Code, or IPC, (rioting), three years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3,000 each under section 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapons), and five years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 each under section 506 (criminal intimidation).

In all, 80% of the total fine will be given to the families of Gaurav and Sachin. Gaurav’s father Ravindra expressed satisfaction and faith in the law after the ruling. Parents of Muzammil and Mujassim said that they would move the high court against the verdict.

On August 27, 2013, Sachin and Gaurav, cousins and residents of Malikpura village, were beaten to death by a mob with lathis, bricks and iron rods in the aftermath of a dispute. Reportedly, their bicycle had collided with the motorcycle of a local resident. Another man, Shahanawaz, also died in the clash.

Subsequent riots that broke out in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts of Uttar Pradesh claimed 62 lives, 93 were injured and more than 50,000 left homeless.

The matter was investigated by Sampurnanad Tiwari, an official of the Special Investigation Cell (SIC) formed to probe the cases. Tiwari submitted the charge sheet against Muzammil, Mujassim ,Furkaan, Jahangir and Nadeem to the court on November 24, 2013. On the basis of evidences and witnesses’ testimonies, the court summoned two more people -- Afzal and Iqbal -- who got bail from the court. The other five have been in prison for the past five years.

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