Death sentence to taxi driver for killing tourist couple
What's the story
A taxi driver has been sentenced to death and three co-accused to life imprisonment by a Dehradun court for killing a tourist couple from Delhi in 2014.
Pronouncing the quantum of punishment in the case, Additional District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Sultan said that the incident had tarnished the image of Devbhoomi, another name for Uttarakhand, which is a tourist state.
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Details
Court also imposed fine on taxi driver and other accused
The court said by handing down the death sentence to the main accused and life imprisonment to others, a stern message was being given.
The main accused, taxi driver Rajudas, had hatched a conspiracy in collusion with three friends to loot and kill the couple.
A fine of Rs. 65,000 on Rajudas and Rs. 1,15,000 on each of the three co-accused was also imposed.
Details
Rajudas was driving couple to Tiger Falls in his Bolero
Momita Das and her friend Abhijit Pal, who were originally from West Bengal but lived in Delhi, had come to Uttarakhand's Chakrata on 22 October 2014 to spend Diwali holidays.
They hired a taxi owned and driven by Rajudas on 23 October to visit Tiger Falls.
The driver's friends Guddu, Kundan, and Bablu also joined him on the way to the popular tourist spot.
Couple murdered
Rajudas, friends strangulate the couple while returning from Tiger Falls
While returning from Tiger falls, the taxi driver Rajudas, and his friends started misbehaving with Momita; when Abhijit protested they strangulated him and threw his body into a gorge near Naugaon.
Later, they had also strangulated Momita and threw her body in the Yamuna River.
The court had earlier convicted the accused of murder, loot, and conspiracy in the case.