‘Single gunshot injury’: Allahabad High Court spares cop’s killer from death penalty

The Allahabad High Court has reduced the death sentence of a man convicted of killing a police inspector in 2014, to life imprisonment for 25 years without remission. The court found that a single gunshot caused the death, which it deemed not cruel or heinous. The accused, Pappu alias Chandra Kumar, was convicted by a bench of Justices Ajay Bhanot and Avnish Saxena, who upheld the prosecution's case beyond reasonable doubt.

The court noted the unshaken testimony of eyewitnesses and the precision of the investigation. They also considered the accused's poor socio-economic background, with his father working in education and supporting six children. Despite a minor inconsistency in the investigating officer's statement, the court concluded that the death of the inspector was due to the gunshot injury.