ITANAGAR, 30 May: The Yupia sessions court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for the 2005 murder of a resident of Itanagar, bringing to a close a case that remained under trial for over two decades.

District and Sessions Judge Dr Hirendra Kashyap on Friday sentenced Ponu Gyadu to undergo imprisonment for life and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 after convicting him under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for the murder of Chaba Nalo.

The court directed that in default of payment of the fine, the convict would have to undergo an additional two months of simple imprisonment. The period already spent in custody during investigation and trial – five months and 12 days – will be set off against the sentence under Section 428 of the CrPC.

According to the prosecution led by public prosecutor N Bakhang, the incident occurred on 18 September, 2005, at Niti Vihar in Itanagar. An FIR lodged by the deceased’s wife alleged that Chaba Nalo was fatally assaulted with a hammer by Ponu Gyadu while he was at a rented house. Nalo later succumbed to his injuries while being taken to hospital.

 The investigation led to the arrest of Ponu Gyadu and recovery of the alleged weapon of offence – an iron hammer – on the basis of his disclosure statement. Police subsequently filed a chargesheet against Ponu Gyadu and two others under Sections 302/34 of the IPC.

The trial court examined 17 prosecution witnesses and several defence witnesses before delivering its judgement on 22 April this year. In its judgement, the court held that the prosecution had established the guilt of Ponu Gyadu beyond reasonable doubt. The court observed that the murder was committed as an act of revenge following an earlier physical assault on the convict’s step-brother. It noted that the convict struck the deceased on the head with a hammer, resulting in his death.

While deciding the sentence, the court considered submissions made by the defence that the convict was the sole breadwinner of his family, had an aged mother, a wife and four children, including a son suffering from tuberculosis.

However, the court ruled that the case did not merit the benefit of probation and did not fall within the category of the ‘rarest of rare’ cases warranting capital punishment.

The court acquitted the other two co-accused of the charges.

The judge informed the convict of his right to challenge the conviction before the Gauhati High Court.