LUCKNOW: An NIA Court in Lucknow on Friday sentenced 28 individuals to life imprisonment for the murder of 22-year-old Chandan Gupta during a communal clash in Kasganj on January 26, 2018. The violence erupted during a Tiranga Yatra (tricolor march).
Additional District and Sessions Judge Vivekanand Sharan Tripathi convicted the accused under multiple IPC sections, including 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 147 (rioting), and 149 (unlawful assembly), as well as provisions of the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act and the CLA Act. Seven of the accused were also convicted under the Arms Act.
The convicted individuals include Wasim, Naseem, Zahid alias Jagga, Bablu, Akram, Mohsin, Rahat, Salman, and others. All have been taken into custody. One accused, Munajir Rafi, appeared via video conferencing, while an arrest warrant was issued against Salim, who was present in court on a wheelchair.
Additional DGC (criminal), MK Singh, stated that the prosecution presented 18 witnesses, while the defence produced 23. A chargesheet filed by Kasganj Police in July 2018 led to the case being transferred to the NIA Court, where charges were framed on September 2, 2019.
On January 26, 2018, Abhishek Gupta, alias Chandan Gupta, led a Tiranga Yatra in Kasganj to mark Republic Day. Chanting patriotic slogans, the group, including Chandan’s brother Vivek, carried tricolours on two-wheelers.
As the yatra neared the Government Girls Inter College gate, accused individuals, including Salim, Wasim, and Naseem, armed with weapons, blocked the road. They snatched and desecrated the tricolour, demanding participants chant “Pakistan Zindabad” to proceed. When Chandan opposed this, the group retaliated with stone-pelting and gunfire.
In the ensuing violence, Salim shot Chandan, critically injuring him. Vivek and others managed to rush Chandan to the police station and then to the district hospital, where he was declared dead. Chandan’s father, Sushil Gupta, lodged an FIR, initiating the case that led to life sentences for 28 individuals.
The incident highlighted tensions and escalated communal unrest in the region.
