Three men were on Friday sentenced to 15 years in prison each by Justice Navindra Singh after they pleaded guilty to manslaughter, while one of their co-defendants was freed after the prosecution withdrew the charge against him.
At the High Court, Vishal, Vishnu and Babzie Singh were each sentenced to 15 years in jail, while Akash Singh was released.
The Singh’s were accused with Satyesh Singh and Parsram Lalchand of the July 29, 2008 killing of Niranjan. Babzie is the father of Vishal, Vishnu and Akash.
The three Singhs pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter while the other was freed after discussions were held between the prosecution, the defence and Justice Singh. The Singhs were represented by attorney Peter Hugh, while Lalchand and Satyesh were represented by defence counsel Hukumchand.
Lalchand and Satesh still maintain their innocence in the crime and a trial will be conducted today before a 12-member jury for both of them. State prosecutors Konyo Thompson and Dhanika Singh had contended that the six accused beat Niranjan to death after an altercation over a bicycle. Niranjan succumbed to his injuries days later.
