Jamshedpur: In a major verdict, a Jamshedpur court on Wednesday sentenced five accused to life imprisonment under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in connection with the brutal Nagadih murder case that took place on May 18, 2017, under the Bagbeda police station.
The convicted accused are Rajaram Hansda, Gopal Hansda, Rengo Purti, Tara Mandal, and Sunil Sardar. The judgment was pronounced by the court of ADJ-I Vimalesh Kumar Sahay.
The court had already held the accused guilty in September, and the sentencing arguments were concluded on Wednesday. Senior advocate Sushil Kumar Jaiswal, appearing for the victim’s side, urged the court to consider the case as “rarest of the rare” and award the death penalty. However, the court did not classify it as such and instead sentenced the five to life imprisonment under Section 302 IPC. They were also sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment under Section 307 and two years for other related charges.
A total of 19 witnesses deposed during the trial. The court also directed that the victim’s family be compensated under the Victim Compensation Scheme through the District Legal Services Authority (DALSA).
Senior advocates Sushil Jaiswal, Sudhir Kumar Pappu, and Jagat Vijay Singh represented the victim’s family in the court. The verdict was delivered in connection with Case No. 91/2017, registered at the Bagbeda police station on the basis of a complaint by Uttam Verma, a member of the victim’s family. Another case, No. 90/2017, filed by the police based on the same incident, is still pending before the court, along with several related cases.
The horrific incident took place on May 18, 2017, in Nagadih, where a mob—driven by rumors of child abduction—lynched Vikas Verma, a resident of Jugsalai Naya Bazar, his brother Gautam Verma, their grandmother Ramsakhi Devi, and Gangesh Gupta, a resident of Bagbeda. The victims were beaten to death in one of the most shocking incidents of mob violence in the region.
Despite years of investigation, eight to ten accused, including Vibhishan Sardar and Jagat Mardi, remain absconding. Around seven separate cases related to the incident are still pending in different courts.
Advocate Sushil Jaiswal confirmed that the five convicted persons were found guilty under Sections 302, 307, 341, 342, 338, and 117/149 of the Indian Penal Code.
The verdict brings partial closure to one of Jamshedpur’s darkest chapters of mob violence, while the hunt continues for the absconding accused involved in the 2017 Nagadih killings.
