A trial court on Monday convicted Mantu Kumar, Udai Kumar and Pinku Ravidas for robbing and murdering Satyendra Dubey in 2003.
A Patna court has convicted three people for robbing and killing Satyendra Kumar Dubey, a young engineer who had blown the whistle on corruption in National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in 2003.
His death had sparked a nationwide outrage. The case took a different turn when Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigations revealed in 2004 that robbery was the motive behind Dubey’s killing.
Dubey, a young engineer, working in the golden quadrilateral project of NHAI was murdered in the wee hours of November 27, 2003, in front of the circuit house in Gaya, Bihar.
A trial court on Monday convicted Mantu Kumar, Udai Kumar and Pinku Ravidas for robbing and murdering Dubey. The fourth accused in the case, Shravan Kumar, had turned an approver in the case.
Mantu Kumar has been convicted under section 302 (murder), 394 (voluntary causing hurt while committing robbery) of Indian Penal Code and 27 (a) Arms Act (possession of unlicensed weapon).
The other two accused persons have been convicted under Section 302/34 (murder committed in furtherance of common intention) and 394 of the IPC.
A sentence on the trio will be pronounced on March 27, 2010. Dubey had written to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee detailing the extent of corruption in financial and contractual matters in the NHAI. Though Dubey had requested anonymity, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had forwarded the letter directly to the road transport ministry. The ministry had reprimanded Dubey for directly approaching the PMO. It was suspected that Dubey’s letter was leaked to the contractor mafia and NHAI officials against whom he had raised his voice.
The case was initially handled by Rampur police and was transferred to the CBI on December 8, 2003. The agency registered an FIR in the matter on December 12 and initiated investigations.
During its probe, the CBI arrested four persons: Mantu, Udai, Pinku and Sharvan, all residents of Katari village in Gaya district.
“They had all assembled near the circuit house in Gaya in the wee hours of November 27, 2003. Dubey was passing through the area on a cycle-rickshaw. The accused persons robbed him of his belongings and during the ensuing scuffle, Mantu shot him with a .315 country-made pistol,” a CBI statement said.
“A briefcase containing documents belonging to Dubey, including his identity card and the murder weapon were recovered from an abandoned well. Accused Sharvan Kumar gave complete and voluntary disclosure and was made an approver,” said a CBI statement. The agency had filed a charge sheet in the case on September 3, 2004.
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