Chandigarh: A man in Mewat who was charged with murdering his seven-year-old daughter in February last year was sentenced to death by a local court on Thursday .Ikram Khan was charged with killing the girl because he wanted to frame the village sarpanch and his associates in the case because they had penalized him for violating the panchayat's beef sale ban.

The Mewat district and sessions judge, M M Dhonchak observed that an inhuman act had been done by the convict with a view to settling scores with his enemies. “Convict killed an innocent child who was to seek protection from her father. ...The murder was committed with a pre meditated mind and in an inhuman and barbaric manner.“

The case dates back to February 15, 2014 when Ikram and his men clashed with village sarpanch Khursheed Ahmed and his men over selling of beef in Manota village.Around 15 men from both the sides were injured in the clash and seven-year-old Saiba was badly injured who later succumbed to injuries caused by sharp-edged weapons. In his statement to the police, Ikram accused Khursheed, Nasru, Hakkrudin and others of attacking him with sharp-edged weapons and murdering his daughter.

According to investigations by the crime branch, Ikram had continued to slaughter cows and sell beef in the village despite a panchayat resolution against it. Cops told the court it was established that when Ikram did not budge despite warnings, the villagers slapped a penalty on him and announced a social boycott. They had also slapped a case against him.

Khursheed and his men then surrounded his shop in protest. Ikram along with his brothers Imran and Irfan however confronted them and pelted stones. The police told the court that in the clash, Ikram murdered his youngest daughter by slitting her throat and accused Khursheed of having committed the crime. The officials then booked Khursheed for murder and Ikram for slaughtering cows.

However, during investigations, police said, Ikram confessed to the murder which was corroborated with weapons recovered from the spot. The judge has stated in the judgment that during the arguments on quantum of sentence, Ikram lost his cool and abused the chair. Ikram's lawyer Mohammad Irshad said they will challenge the udgment in the high court.

