Kolkata, January 28: Prabhu Shankar Agarwal, owner of Haldiram Prabhuji confectionary chain, was convicted by a fast track court here on Wednesday for attempting to murder Pramod Sharma, the nephew of a tea-stall owner way back in 2005.
Four others, including the two sharp-shooters Gopal Tiwari and Manoj Sharma —who were hired to murder —were also convicted.
Convicting Agarwal and four others for the murder attempt, justice Tapan Sen said their punishments will be announced on January 29. According to legal experts, the punishment relating to such cases can be a rigorous imprisonment ranging from seven to 10 years.
Agarwal’s fight with the tea stall owner started in 2005. The tea stall was allegedly blocking the entrance of the Haldiram restaurant-cum-food court here. It was learnt that despite being offered a compensation of Rs4 lakh, the tea stall owner refused to move.
As per court records, having failed to convince him, Agarwal engaged Tiwari and Sharma to “settle the matter”.
On March 30, 2005, Tiwari and Sharma along with two of their associates reached the tea-stall and fired at Pramod Sharma, the nephew of the owner.
While two bullets missed the target, Pramod was hit by the third bullet. He survived the bullet injury and filed a police case against the five accused at the fast track court.
—Agencies