Surat: A sessions court sentenced two brothers to life imprisonment for murdering two young men during Ganpati immersion celebrations in 2016. The third accused in the case is currently absconding after jumping interim bail, and his trial will be taken up separately.The incident occurred during Ganpati visarjan on Sept 15, 2016, when complainant Mitesh Patel, deceased Jitesh Patel, and other members of Panchavati Society went for immersion in Amroli. Another procession from Madhuvan Society was following behind.According to the prosecution, brothers Prashant Nayak (27) and Pratap Nayak (25), along with the third accused, Pratapwere part of the Madhuvan Society procession. The accused allegedly molested girls from Panchavati Society, which triggered a confrontation between the two groups.After the immersion, Jitesh Patel and Pramod were near Bhagunagar when the accused began threatening them. The situation soon escalateda nd Prashant stabbed both victims with a sharp weapon, while the other two accused restrained them.Following the incident, Amroli police arrested all three accused and booked them for murder and under provisions of the Atrocities Act, as the victims belonged to the ST community. A chargesheet was filed on Nov 15, 2016, and the trial continued for nearly nine years.During the trial, the third accused, identified as Pratap, jumped interim bail and remains absconding.Additional public prosecutor Digant Tewar argued that the accused acted like professional killers, pointing out that both victims died from a single stab wound each. However, the court did not consider the case to fall under the “rarest of rare” category and sentenced both brothers to life imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 2,000 each.
