Chhattisgarh High Court upholds Life Imprisonment for 28 convicts in Ramavatar Jaggi murder case

Raipur
In a significant development, the Chhattisgarh High Court has upheld the district court’s order of life imprisonment for 28 convicts, including prominent figures Yahya Dhebar, Abhay Goyal, and Chiman Singh, in the high-profile murder case of Ramavatar Jaggi, which occurred in June 2003.

The High Court dismissed the appeal of the convicts in the murder case of NCP leader Jaggi. The division bench, comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Arvind Verma, maintained the sentence of life imprisonment.

Following the hearing of the appeal on February 29, the division bench reserved its decision, which was announced on Thursday. Among those sentenced to life imprisonment are former CSPs, a former police station in-charge, Raipur Mayor Ejaz Dhebar’s brother Yahya Dhebar, and shooter Chiman Singh.

On June 3, 2003, NCP leader Ramavatar Jaggi was fatally shot. A total of 31 accused were charged in this case, with Balu Pathak and Surendra Singh turning government witnesses. All but one of the accused, JCC-J leader Amit Jogi, were convicted. However, later, Amit Jogi was acquitted.

Satish Jaggi, Jaggi’s son, appealed in the Supreme Court against Amit Jogi’s acquittal, a case that is still pending.

During the High Court appeal, Satish Jaggi’s lawyers argued against Amit Jogi’s acquittal, claiming that the murder conspiracy was sponsored by the former state government. They highlighted the removal of evidence under the government’s influence during the CBI investigation, emphasizing the necessity of exposing the conspiracy, even in the absence of concrete evidence.

Yahya Dhebar, the main accused in the Ramavatar Jaggi murder case, is the brother of Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar.

Responding to the High Court’s decision, Satish Jaggi expressed a sense of closure, stating that his father’s soul and the Jaggi family have found peace.

All the accused/appellants, namely,  the then Moudhapara SHO V  K Pandey, Abhay Goel, Feroz Siddiquie, the then Crime Branch In-Charge Rakesh Chandra Trivedi, Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar’s brother Yahya Dhebar, Avinash Singh, Suryakant Tiwari, the then CSP Amrik Singh Gill, Chiman Singh, Harish Chandra, Narsi Sharma, Sunil Gupta, Raju Bhadauriya, Anil Pachauri, Ravindra Singh, Lalla Bhadauriya, Dharmendra Singh, Satyendra Singh, Shivendra Singh Parihar, Vinod Singh Rathore, Sanjay Singh Kushwaha, Rakesh Kumar Sharma, Ashok Singh Bhadoriya, Vivek Singh, Jambwant, Shyam Sunder, Vinod Singh Rajput and Vishwanath Rajbhar, are reported to be on bail. Their bail bonds are hereby cancelled and sureties are discharged from their liabilities. They shall surrender within a period of one week from today failing which they shall be taken into custody to serve out the remaining part of the sentence as has been awarded to them by the learned trial Court,” the division bench ordered