Murder of Ranjit Singh in Brescia: five convicted, alleged instigator acquitted
The Brescia Court of Assizes has convicted five defendants for the murder of Indian national Ranjit Singh, killed on Christmas Eve 2023. Businessman Sanjeev Kumar, considered the instigator by prosecutors, has been acquitted.
Verdict in Brescia: five convictions for the via Milano murder, alleged instigator freed
As reported by Google News IT — Crime (it), the Brescia Court of Assizes, presided over by Cristina Amalia Ardenghi, has delivered its verdict in the trial for the murder of Ranjit Singh, the 51-year-old Indian national killed on the evening of Christmas Eve 2023 in a car park on via Milano.
After hours of deliberation, the court convicted five of the eight defendants, acquitting businessman Sanjeev Kumar, aged 49 — represented by lawyers Gianbattista Scalvi and Paolo Inverardi — whom prosecutor Carlotta Bernardini had indicated as the instigator of the crime. Rohan Kumar and Ashwinder Singh were also acquitted.
The sentences imposed on the five convicted defendants are as follows: Arshdeep Singh received 14 years' imprisonment, Suraj Sharma 12 years, Ravi Ravi 10 years, Hammad Manzoor 9 years and 4 months, Rahul Kumar 8 years. For the latter, convicted solely for accessory involvement, the reduction provided for by article 116 of the criminal code was recognised.
The total sentences exceed 53 years of imprisonment by a small margin, against the 172 years sought by the prosecutor at the end of the closing argument on 9 June. The difference is mainly due to the exclusion of the aggravating circumstance of premeditation: the court did not consider it established, which allowed all defendants to benefit from the abbreviated procedure. For those accused of inflicting the 43 injuries documented by the autopsy — including 19 stab wounds — the prosecution had sought 30 years each.
The circumstances of the murder, on which there is no doubt, show the victim dying following a violent beating in which weapons were used, including a knife. According to the reconstruction by investigators and the Carabinieri, Kumar would have organised a punitive raid to avenge an arson attack that Singh allegedly committed against him following the non-renewal of his employment contract with the company — a circumstance for which no evidence has ever emerged. The acquittal of the alleged instigator overturns that investigative theory.
The court's reasoning will be filed within 90 days.
Source: Google News IT — Crime (it)