Mumbai: A Sessions court on Friday handed out life imprisonment for all 21 convicted in Chhota Rajan's associate Lakhan Bhaiya encounter case. Out of the 21 convicted, 13 were police officers and the main convict is senior police officer Pradeep Suryawanshi.
Mumbai policeman Pradeep Sharma was also an accused in the case but was later acquitted by the court.
The charges ranged from murder to conspiracy. All were convicted of conspiracy, which attracts life sentence.
Lakhan Bhaiya was killed on November 11, 2006 in Mumbai's Versova area. He was accused in 19 cases including 12 of murder.
In 2008, the Bombay High Court had ordered an magisterial inquiry to probe the incident. In 2009, the magistrate had submitted a report to the high court saying Lakhan Bhaiya was murdered in cold blood. The court had later appointed a Special Investigation Team which arrested Sharma and 21 others.
This is the first time that so many police officers have been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment at one time for any crime.
