A Mumbai court has sentenced a butcher to life imprisonment for the murder of a tempo driver following a dispute over transporting bulls. Bilal Sayyed was convicted under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for the 2018 killing of Dharma, as ruled by Additional Sessions Judge SD Tawshikar on Wednesday. The court noted that while the act was serious, it did not warrant the death penalty.
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Dharma and Sayyed, who were friends, had set out with another individual to procure buffaloes from Alibag in September 2018, but were thwarted by Ganesh visarjan processions. Sayyed then instructed Dharma to transport bulls to Khopoli, which Dharma refused, sparking an altercation. During the argument, Sayyed seized Dharma’s mobile phone. Later, when Dharma approached Sayyed to retrieve his phone, he was fatally stabbed.
Sayyed, along with two others, was apprehended on the same day. The testimony of three individuals who were with Dharma during the confrontation served as crucial evidence for the prosecution.
The court said,
”It is clear from the testimony of eyewitnesses that Bilal stabbed deceased Dharma with a thin, pointed article like tocha (sharp object used for breaking ice block) and caused fatal injuries.”
The court emphasized that eyewitness accounts clearly indicated that Sayyed had used a sharp object resembling an ice-breaking tocha to fatally wound Dharma. The other two individuals detained alongside Sayyed were acquitted of involvement in the murder.
