Gujarat builder gets life term for killing son

While convicting Amrut Patel and slapping a fine of Rs 7,500 on him, Joint District and Sessions Judge R.M. Parmar relied on evidence gathered by forensic and ballistic experts of the Directorate of Forensic Science and on statements of a few other witnesses, including the deceased’s wife Aarti Patel.

The incident took place on February 20, 2000 following a dispute regarding construction of a dividing wall at the family’s 600-acre Shantivan farm. The farm is situated on the outskirts of Makarba village off the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway.

When the judge declared his verdict in a jam-packed courtroom, many of Amrut’s relatives broke down but the man remained unfazed. ‘‘Everything will be fine, do not worry,’’ he said.

Amrut was detained in the courtroom till evening and was then handed over to the police. While he was being taken from the building, Bharat Joshi, his counsel, tried to restrain photographers from taking pictures.

In its order, the court found Amrut Patel, proprietor of leading city-based Popular Constructions, to have killed his son over a property dispute by firing from his licenced revolver and then tampering with it to evade arrest. Finding the evidence submitted by ballistic experts very crucial, the court said it goes on to prove that one of the three bullets fired from the revolver and recovered from the deceased’s body was fired by Amrut. Also, the accused had tampered with the firing pin to destroy evidence.

During the four-year trial, 17 of the 28 witnesses had turned hostile, including two prime eyewitnesses, Gulamnabi and Dashrath.