13 years later, man gets life imprisonment for killing six family members at Udayagiri

Mysuru: Thirteen years after a man set fire to a house in Mysuru, killing six members of a family, the Karnataka High Court has convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment, overturning the Trial Court’s order acquitting him.

The accused, Abdul Sharief, a retired Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus driver, was convicted in connection with the 2013 incident, which was allegedly triggered by a financial dispute.

A Division Bench, comprising Justice H.P. Sandesh and Justice B. Pramod, passed the order on Aug. 29 while hearing an appeal filed by the State Government challenging the April 28, 2018 order of the Second Additional Sessions Court in Mysuru, which had acquitted Sharief.

According to the prosecution, Sharief poured petrol through a window of the house and set it ablaze with a matchstick before fleeing.

The High Court convicted him under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy a house) of the IPC and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The Court also directed him to surrender before the Trial Court.

Incident at 3 am

The incident occurred around 3 am on April 12, 2013, at the house of Mohammed Ameer Jan (70), a practitioner of home remedies and resident of Beedi Colony (Door No. 249, Azeez Sait Nagar) under the Udayagiri Police Station limits.

The prosecution alleged that Sharief harboured resentment against Ameer Jan over money he owed him for medical treatment.

Ameer Jan was killed on the spot. His eldest daughter Rizwana Banu (38), her daughter Arbia Fathima (8), her son Mohammed Arhan (2) and Ameer Jan’s third daughter Parveen Taj (27), also died in the fire. His fourth daughter, Reshma Anjum (24), succumbed to her injuries at a hospital. When the Police and neighbours reached the spot, they found the house locked from outside. Sharief was 50 when the incident occurred and is now 63.

‘Trial Court erred’

The High Court observed that there was sufficient evidence, including the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, to convict Sharief, but the Trial Court had failed to assess the evidence properly. The Bench said, the Trial Court had placed undue emphasis on whether an explosion had occurred immediately or later, observing that the issue was irrelevant to the case.

“The Trial Court erred in acquitting the accused. The order is defective and the judgment suffers from perversity. Therefore, the order is set aside and the accused is being convicted and sentenced,” the High Court said.

Sharief was also ordered to pay a fine of Rs. 25,000 for each count of murder.