GEETA CHOPRA AND SANJAY CHOPRA CASE

VICTIMS

GEETA AND SANJAY CHOPRA

  • GEETA CHOPRA

Age:- 16 Years ,Student of 2nd Year in Jesus & Mary College, New Delhi

  • SANJAY CHOPRA

Age :- 14 Years ,student of 10th Standard in Modern School, New Delhi. v

  • Residential Address:- 145 Services 0fficers Enclave, Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi.

CULPRITS

  • RANGA
  • Real name : Kuljeet
  • Profession : Driver

  • BILLA
  • Real name: Jasbir Singh
  • He was a Historic- sheeter criminal

THE INCIDENT

  • DATE OF CRIME – 26th August,1978
  • Dead body recovered on – 28th August,1978

On August 26, 1978, which was a Saturday, Geeta was to compere a programme of the ‘YUV VANI’ at 8 P.M. Sanjay was to take part in the same programme. They were to reach All India Radio, Parliament Street, at 7 P.M. They left the house at 6.15 P.M. for the All India Radio and reached GOL DAK KHANA at 6:30 P.M.

• At 6:35 PM – A mustard coloured Fiat car bearing registration number HRK 8930 (Ranga and Billa) standing near the IN-gate of the Yog Ashram near Gole Dak Khana gave lift to geeta and sanjay for All India Radio.

Geeta was well aware of the route to AIR. She opposed when the car got deviated from the route but ranga and billa threatened them with kirpan. Siblings started screaming and shouting for help, afraid of being seen by people ranga speeded up the car. But to their dismay one person on street saw them and called up PCR police control room to tell about the situation and mentioned the car no. By mistake, the letter ‘M’ was noted instead of ‘H’. After reaching ridge road, they thought of asking for ransom money but sanjay started shouting. seeing this, ranga killed sanjay using kirpan while geeta was being raped by billa. after which she was also killed by them. While snatching Kirpan from Ranga , Billa got injured on his head. So, for a medical assistance they reached Willington hospital at 10:45 P.M.

But according to doctors it was medico-legal case, so a police inspector recorded their statement that he had been robbed of his watch at about 9.30 P.M. near Kali Mandir on Gurudwara Bangla Sahib Road. The injury on the head was ascribed to one of the assailants who hit him with some iron object. While the statement was being recorded they also changed their name to Vinod and Harbhajan.

According to chargesheet filed there were 2 public witnesses who saw Geeta and Sanjay and also reported to Police control room.

  • Witness No.1
    • Inderjeet Singh Noata (Public Witness 1), a young Junior Engineer of the Delhi Development Authority, was going home on his scooter on Baba Kharak Singh Marg. When he was near the Willingdon Hospital Casualty a fiat car suddenly overtook him. He noticed that a boy and a girl sitting on the rear seat of the car were struggling with the driver and the person sitting next to him. Feeling suspicious he speeded up his scooter and succeeded in coming near the car.
  • Witness No.2
    • Bhagwan Dass (Public Witness 2) came out of Gurudwara Bangla Sahib and proceeded towards North Avenue on his scooter. It was about 6.30 P.M. when he noticed a mustard coloured Fiat car bearing registration number Hrk 8930 standing near the IN-gate of the Yog Ashram near Gole Dak Khana. As he passed the car, he heard some noise coming from inside the car. He stopped his scooter and ran back towards the car. He saw two persons sitting on the front seat of the car while a boy and a girl were on the back seat. He noticed that the girl was pulling the hair of the driver and the boy was quarrelling with the person sitting next to the driver. However, before he could reach the car it sped away. 

FIR by Father of Victims– At 10.15 P.M. Capt.M.M Chopra (father of victims) decided to inform the police. He telephoned the Police Control Room, gave description of the children, and reported that they were missing.

Discovery of Dead Body – On August 28, 1978 at about 6 P.M. Dhani Ram (Public Witness) was grazing his cattle at the Ridge. He came across two dead bodies. One was of a girl and the other of a boy. These were lying in the jungle. 

Forensic Evidence

  • Dr. G. D. Gupta (Public Witness ), Junior Scientific Officer of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, New Delhi, examined the fiat car HRK 873 carefully. He developed finger and palm prints which were photographed.
  • A bunch of hair was found on the foot-mat of the driver’s seat
  • Butt of a smoken Char Minor gold-make cigarette was found on the right side of the foot-mat of the driver’s seat
  • some hair were found lying on the foot-mat of the left rear seat
  • Bloodstains were noticed inside the car at various places
  • Dr. R.P Singh compared the earth lifted from the driver’s foot mat with the bloodstained earth and the sample of controlled earth lifted from near the place where the dead bodies were found. Some of the ingredients were found similar.

VERDICT

Kuljeet Singh (alias Ranga Kush) and Jasbir Singh (alias Billa) were convicted and sentenced to death under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, read with Section 34 (common intention), by an additional sessions judge in Delhi. They were also convicted for crimes under Section 363 (kidnapping), 365 (kidnapping with unlawful confinement), 366 (kidnapping a woman with intention of sexual intercourse) and 367 (kidnapping with intention to cause hurt)

•The convicted challenged the death sentence verdict in the Delhi High Court. The High Court upheld the judgement on 16 November 1979. The convicts then petition under Article 136 in the Supreme Court of India, which was turned down. They then petitioned the president of India to use the clemency powers vested in him under Article 72 of the Constitution. The president turned down the petition without citing reason. They then petitioned the Supreme Court again arguing that the president should use his clemency powers fairly. On 21 April 1981, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentences. 

REFERENCES

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