Delhi Jalebi Murder Case: Court Sentences Man to Life for Killing Sweets Vendor Over Queue Dispute

A Delhi court has sentenced Neeraj to life imprisonment , bringing to a close a 12 year old murder case in which a sweets vendor was shot dead for refusing to serve him jalebis ahead of other customers waiting in a queue near Bangla Sahib Gurudwara . The court had earlier convicted him under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for murder and relevant provisions of the Arms Act for the unauthorised use of a firearm.

The incident occurred on February 18, 2014 , when the vendor refused Neeraj's demand to bypass other customers. According to the court, the accused slapped the vendor during the argument, dragged him from behind the counter, pulled out a pistol and fired a shot at his head from close range. The victim was taken to hospital but later succumbed to his injuries. Police apprehended Neeraj near the spot while he was attempting to flee and recovered the firearm along with a fake arms licence .

Additional Sessions Judge Dhirendra Rana , in the sentencing order dated June 8, observed that the murder arose from a trivial dispute over being served before others. While awarding life imprisonment, the court held that the crime did not fall within the "rarest of rare" category warranting the death penalty. The judge considered mitigating factors, including the convict's clean criminal record, his continued custody throughout the trial, the possibility of reformation , and the fact that he has a wife and two sons.

During the trial, Neeraj denied the prosecution's allegations in his statement before the court. He claimed that four to five people had assaulted him during the commotion, that he did not know how the bullet hit the vendor, and that he had been falsely implicated. However, the court rejected this defence, relying on consistent eyewitness testimonies, medical and forensic evidence, and the recovery of the pistol from the accused immediately after the shooting. Neeraj did not produce any defence evidence to support his claims.