Bihar BJP MLA convicted in 2018 firing case

ANew delhi margaret court on sat convicted Bharatiya Janata company (BJP) MLA from Bihar’s Sahebganj Raju Kumar Singh, in a caseful of celebratory firing inside his farmhouse in South Delhi’s Fatehpur Beri on New Year’s eve in 2018, that led to the death of a 45-year-old woman due to gunshot injuries.The judgement was passed by special judge Vishal Gogne of Rouse Avenue courts, wherein Singh was convicted under Indian Penal Code section 304 (II) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and under section 30 of the Arms Act (punishment for contravention of license or rule). The MLA was arrested on January 2, 2019, and has been out on bail since February 8, 2019.The court noted that since the accused was firing from a deadly weapon such as a pistol in a crowded party with people dancing on the dance floor, interacting with each other and exchanging pleasantries around midnight, the area was teeming with people and therefore “it was a manifestly dangerous act for accused Raju Kumar Singh to have been using a firearm to fire multiple rounds with his pistol”.The court has also ordered that the MLA be taken into judicial custody, while listing the matter for June 9 for arguments on the point of sentence. The maximum punishment for the offences is three years of imprisonment.The court, meanwhile, acquitted Singh’s wife, Renu Singh and two others, of the offence of section 201 (destruction of evidence), on grounds of no material evidence.The case dates back to December 31, 2018, when Singh, formerly an MLA with the Janata Dal United (JDU) before defecting to BJP, during a New Year’s eve gathering at his farmhouse at Ambedkar Colony’s Rose Farm, fired gunshots in the air, which hit complainant Vikas Gupta’s wife Archana Gupta. She was rushed to the hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.“The court has reached a firm finding that accused Raju Kumar Singh, identified by name and before the court by multiple eye witnesses, fired the fatal bullet which caused the death of Archana Gupta,” the special judge held in the detailed order.A case under the relevant penal sections was registered January 1, 2019, at Fatehpur Beri Police Station and police recovered a .315 calibre rifle and live cartridges from Singh’s farmhouse. The police had subsequently added IPC section 302 (murder) to the FIR.The MLA and his driver and co-accused Hari Singh, fled the spot and were eventually arrested January 2, 2019, from Fazil Nagar in Uttar Pradesh.Witness statements subsequently revealed the names of Singh’s wife Renu Singh and two others, Ramendra Singh and Rana Singh, who the court stated cleaned the blood from the spot after the incident.On October 30, 2023, a Delhi court had framed charges under culpable homicide not amounting to murder against Singh and discharged him of murder charges, after noting that he did not have any intention of causing the death of any person.The court stated that there was prima facie material to show that the MLA, under the influence of alcohol, fired in the air at the gathering which led to gunshot injuries to deceased Archana Gupta on her head and “had knowledge” that his act of firing could hit any person at the party.The court had also framed destruction of evidence charges against his wife and three others, observing that they helped “clean up the dance floor” of the deceased’s blood and caused disappearance of evidence. Proceedings were abated against Singh’s driver after he passed away during the course of the trial.The prosecution was represented by additional public prosecutor Manish Rawat while the MLA was represented by advocate Rajiv Mohan.