A district and sessions court in Faridabad on Wednesday found two prime accused to be guilty in the Nikita Tomar murder case, reported India Today. The quantum of their sentence is likely to be announced on March 26.
On October 27, two men shot dead the 21-year-old woman outside her college in Ballabhgarh in Faridabad district. Tomar, a final year BCom student, was coming out of the college after appearing for an exam when the two accused tried to push her into a car at gunpoint. A video showed her trying to resist their attempts and save herself from being shot.
After her refusal, they shot her with a pistol and she succumbed to her injuries during treatment at a hospital. Both the accused – identified as Touseef and Rehan – were arrested on the same day.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Additional Sessions Judge Sartaj Baswana pronounced Touseef and Rehan guilty of murder and criminal conspiracy, reported The Hindu. Touseef was also found guilty under the Arms Act. Another accused in the case, Touseef’s uncle Arjudeen, was acquitted. Arjudeen had provided the weapon, which was used for the crime.
Three main witnesses, including Tomar’s friend who was present during the shooting, had testified in the case. Apart from this, CCTV footage was also presented in court along with evidence found in the car of the accused, the weapon and forensic analysis.
On November 6, the police in Faridabad had filed a 700-page chargesheet. The court framed the charges on November 23 under sections of the Indian Penal Code along with the Arms Act. The accused had appealed to the Punjab and Haryana Court in favour of re-investigation in the case, but the request was dismissed in February.
After the murder, Tomar’s family alleged the killing was linked to “love jihad” – a conspiracy theory espoused by right-wing Hindu activists alleging that Hindu women are forcibly converted by Muslims through marriage. The relatives also said they had filed a police complaint against Touseef in 2018, but the matter was settled later.
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