85-Year-Old Sentenced to 3 Years by Bihar Court in 1992 Attempt to Murder Case

An 85-year-old man was sentenced to 3 years in jail on June 2, 2026 for a crime committed when P.V. Narasimha Rao was Prime Minister and India had just witnessed the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

More than 33 years after a village pathway dispute erupted into gunfire in Bihar's Vaishali district, the trial court convicted Deep Rai and five others, bringing the criminal trial to an end nearly a generation after it began.

The case, registered in December 1992, finally culminated in a judgment by the District and Additional Sessions Judge-I-cum-Special Judge at Hajipur, Vaishali, on May 26, 2026. The case originally involved seven accused. But by the time the court delivered its verdict, two of them had died during the pendency of the proceedings

While convicting five men in the case, including the octogenarian, court held that the prosecution successfully proved that the accused opened fire on villagers and caused multiple gunshot injuries.

The five surviving accused who have been convicted are Deep Rai (85), Nekeshwar Rai (59), Jagdish Rai alias Jisha Rai (50), Naresh Rai (60) and Nagdeo Rai (62). While Deep Rai received a three-year prison sentence, the remaining convicts were awarded ten years' imprisonment for attempted murder and related offences.

However, Deep Rai did not immediately go to prison. Noting that he had remained on bail during the trial, court granted him relief under Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, suspending the execution of his sentence for the time being and granting him interim bail to enable him to challenge the conviction before the high court.

The Case

The case dates back to December 10, 1992, in Vaishali district. According to the prosecution, tension had been brewing over the use of a village pathway. The dispute escalated when some villagers objected to bamboo being placed on the road. What began as an argument soon turned violent.

The prosecution alleged that the accused left the spot and later returned armed with rifles, guns and pistols. Witnesses told the court that the accused then surrounded the victims and began firing.

According to the prosecution version accepted by the court, one of the accused allegedly shouted that the victims should be shot. Gunfire followed, leaving several persons injured. Shambhu Rai was hit by bullets in his arm and chest. Udesh Rai suffered gunshot injuries to his legs. Informant Adalat Rai was allegedly shot in his hand, leg and face. Ramsakhi Devi was also injured when she tried to intervene and save the victims.

The Trial

The trial court relied heavily on injured eyewitnesses who survived the firing. Court observed that the presence of injured witnesses at the scene could not be doubted because they themselves suffered firearm injuries during the occurrence.

Ten prosecution witnesses were examined, including victims, eyewitnesses and the doctor who treated the injured persons. Medical records, injury reports and X-ray findings were produced before the court and were found to support the prosecution version.

Court found that the core prosecution story remained unchanged despite the passage of time. It accepted the evidence that the accused had arrived armed and fired at the victims during the dispute.

The defence argued that the case was false. However, court found no material capable of discrediting the prosecution witnesses or demolishing the medical evidence on record.

The Punishments

While convicting all surviving accused, court awarded different sentences.

Deep Rai, the oldest among them at around 85 years of age, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment under Section 307 of the IPC (corresponding to Section 109 of the BNS) and also convicted under Section 148 of the IPC [corresponding to Section 191 (3) of the BNS] and Section 27 of the Arms Act.

The remaining convicted accused were awarded ten years' imprisonment under Section 307 IPC, apart from separate sentences under the other offences.

Case Title: State vs Sabal Rai & Ors.

Judge: Manoj Kumar Tiwari, District & Additional Sessions Judge-I-cum-Special Judge, Hajipur, Vaishali, Bihar

Judgment Date: May 26, 2026

Sentencing Date: June 2, 2026