Uttar Pradesh: Man gets life imprisonment for 2020 murder committed when he was 16 years old

A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his 26yearold sisterinlaw in 2020 when he was 16 with the court ordering that the sentence be governed by the Juvenile Justice ActThe special court in Bahraich convicted the accused of murder criminal conspiracy and causing the disappearance of evidence in the 2020 killing of Hasreen whose headless body was found near a canal in the district reported PTISpecial Public Prosecutor Sant Pratap Singh said the court of the Juvenile CourtAdditional Sessions Judge Arvind Kumar Gautam convicted the accused under Sections 30234 murder 120B criminal conspiracy and 20134 causing disappearance of evidence of the Indian Penal Code IPCHe was sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Rs 120 lakhHowever the court directed that the sentence be executed in accordance with the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection of Children Act 2015 and the rules applicable to a child in conflict with lawJuvenile Justice Act limits punishment for childrenThe Act places specific restrictions on punishments that can be imposed on children including a bar on life imprisonment without the possibility of releaseThe case dates back to March 9 2020 when the headless body of Hasreen a resident of Itkauri village under Risia Police Station was found near a canal in Adgodwa village under Rupaidiha Police Station Her head was recovered several days later reported PTIHusband allegedly plotted murder over divorce disputeAccording to the prosecution Hasreen had been staying at her parental home following a dispute with her husband and inlawsHer husband Riyaz Ali was in Saudi Arabia and allegedly wanted a divorce and remarriage while Hasreen was unwilling to agree to a divorcePolice alleged that Riyaz conspired with his father Sadiq Ali mother Saira his 16yearold brother and cousin Salman alias Nanhe to eliminate Hasreen the news agency reportedHasreen allegedly killed near canalThe teenage accused was allegedly brought from Mumbai to Bahraich and persuaded Hasreen to accompany him towards her inlaws home Sadiq and Salman allegedly joined them on the wayNear Adgodwa Hasreens body was found decapitated and was thrown into the Saryu canalPolice subsequently arrested Riyaz the juvenile accused Sadiq Saira and Salman and filed charges against themFour adult accused already convictedThe four adult accused have already been convicted On September 26 2025 Sadiq and Salman were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder while Riyaz and Saira were sentenced to 10 years in prison each for criminal conspiracyThe case of the accused who was 16 years and two months old at the time of the offence was dealt with separately after the Additional Sessions Court on February 13 2026 held that he was a child in conflict with law on the date of the offence and referred his case to the Juvenile Justice BoardJuvenile case referred to Childrens CourtThe Juvenile Justice Board conducted a preliminary assessment in view of the alleged heinous nature of the offence and referred the case to the Childrens Court on May 13 2026 for trialThe Childrens Court subsequently convicted the accused of murder criminal conspiracy and causing disappearance of evidence and sentenced him to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 120 lakhThe court directed that the sentence be executed in accordance with the Juvenile Justice Act and the rules applicable to a child in conflict with the lawWith PTI inputs