The Allahabad High Court has acquitted four men who were on death row, along with another man serving a life sentence, in connection with the 2007 terror attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. The High Court cited critical lapses and defects in the prosecution's investigation as the reason for overturning the trial court's 2019 verdict.
In the December 31, 2007 attack, assailants opened fire on the CRPF camp, resulting in the deaths of seven CRPF personnel and a rickshaw-puller, and injuries to five others. Following the attack, police arrested seven individuals, claiming to have recovered arms and ammunition from them.
In 2019, a Rampur Sessions court sentenced Mohammad Shareef, Sabauddin, and two Pakistani nationals, Imran Shahzad and Mohammad Farooq, to death. Jung Bahadur was sentenced to life imprisonment. Gulab Khan and Mohammad Kausar were acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
However, the Allahabad High Court's division bench, consisting of Justices Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra and Siddhartha Varma, acquitted all five accused, including the two Pakistani nationals, in the main case, citing defects in the investigation that went to the "root of the case". The court noted that the prosecution "miserably failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt". The court also observed that the case "would have met a different result had the investigation and prosecution been conducted by a more trained police force".
Specifically, the High Court pointed out gaps in eyewitness accounts and lapses in the safekeeping of evidence. The court also noted that the accused were not kept "baparda" (veiled or unidentified) after arrest, and no Test Identification Parade (TIP) was conducted, even though the accused were not known to the eyewitnesses prior to the incident.
Despite acquitting them of the main charges, the High Court convicted all five under Section 25(1-A) of the Arms Act, 1959, related to the possession of weapons, as firearms, hand grenades, magazines, and cartridges were found in their possession without fulfilling the requirements of the Arms Act. The court sentenced them to ten years' rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh each. The court directed that the period of imprisonment already served would be adjusted against this sentence. If the appellants have already undergone the punishment of rigorous imprisonment of ten years then it shall be deemed that their punishment is complete, but if they have not undergone the 10 year imprisonment then they shall complete it.
The family of Manveer Singh, a CRPF constable killed in the attack, expressed anger and disbelief at the verdict. His daughter, Deepa Chaudhary, questioned how the accused could be acquitted after killing so many security personnel and expressed her disappointment with the justice system.
