Koderma: The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge III Rakesh Chandra on Monday sentenced 31-year-old Amarjeet Singh, alias Bhooltan, to life imprisonment and imposed a Rs 25,000 fine on him for kidnapping and murdering driver Pradeep Pandit.Amarjeet, a resident of Nawada in Bihar, was found guilty of murdering and dumping the body in an abandoned mine to hide evidence, besides other related charges. The court ordered all sentences, including a two-year term for culpable homicide, to run concurrently. It is the second life sentence in the case, after another accused was convicted on May 16.In October 2023, Pradeep’s wife Sunita Devi complained at Tilaiya police station that he had gone missing. She said Pradeep left for Koderma on October 21 with his employer, Daljit Singh, and never returned. His phone was later found switched off, prompting suspicion. Police later found he had been killed and his body dumped in a closed mine.Public Prosecutor Praveen Kumar Singh said the murder followed a personal feud over a past gold robbery in Koderma, in which Pradeep was also an accused. Defense advocate Jaiprakash Narayan represented Amarjeet. Court relied on witnesses and evidence while granting the prosecution’s maximum-punishment plea.
