Koderma: A district court in Koderma on Thursday sentenced a father-son duo to life imprisonment for murdering a relative over land dispute in Satgawan police station area nearly two years ago.Principal district and sessions judge Ramakant Mishra convicted Mahavir Mahato (65) and his son Lal Bahadur Yadav (27) for the murder of Brahmadev Mahato (58) in Rajabar village on the night of Aug 25, 2024. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on each convict and ordered an additional one month of imprisonment in case of default.The attack took place in the night when Brahmadev and his wife, Dulari Devi, were preparing to sleep outside their house after dinner. Dulari told the court that her brother-in-law Mahavir and his son arrived armed with an axe and an iron rod and launched an assault on her husband.She tried to rescue him but failed and ran to seek help from neighbours. By the time she returned, he was dead.Hearing the commotion, villagers rushed to the spot and apprehended Mahavir, while Lal Bahadur fled. Police later arrested him from Dhab forest area.The prosecution argued that the murder stemmed from a long-standing land dispute between the relatives.Public prosecutor Praveen Kumar Singh pressed for the maximum punishment, citing the brutal nature of the crime. Defence counsel Naval Kishore represented the accused during the trial.Relying on the testimony of 11 prosecution witnesses, forensic evidence and the recovery of the murder weapons, the court found both accused guilty under Section 103 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and awarded life imprisonment, Singh told reporters.
