26 years on, justice for 98-year-old Sikand

Twenty-six years after he lost his son to a parcel bomb rigged to explode on
contact, it was justice at last for 98-year-old H D Sikand when a sessions court
convicted S J Chaudhary, a retired lieutenant colonel, for the murder, on
Monday.

Chaudhary, in his early 70s, was held guilty for the murder of
Krishan Sikand, 40, who died after a parcel bomb sent to him on October 2, 1982,
exploded when he opened it.

Chaudhary's divorced wife was seeing Krishan
then and the former army man was opposed to their plans to marry. Chaudhary had
threatened the two earlier and then went on to send the bomb.

Additional
sessions judge Mamta Sehgal held Chaudhary guilty under Section 302 (murder) of
IPC and under Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosives Act. The punishment will be
pronounced on April 30.

The conviction ended the agonizing wait of the
victim's father for justice. H D Sikand, the owner of car showroom Sikand Motors
in the capital, made rounds of courts for more than two decades, waiting for the
case to conclude. On Monday, however, the 98-year-old could not make it to court
due to ill health.

His grandson, Sanjay, called him up seconds after the
judgment. "I was sure one day justice will prevail. Now I am at peace with
myself," Sanjay quoted his grandfather as saying.




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