Sanjeev Nanda gets 5 year term in hit-and-run case

Sanjeev Nanda, grandson of former naval chief S M Nanda, was on Friday sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment by a Delhi court for mowing down six persons, including three policemen, with his BMW car in 1999.

"Sanjeev Nanda, I award you five years jail term and the time earlier spent by you inside the jail would be deducted," said Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar, who had earlier convicted him under a stringent penal provision, which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years' imprisonment.

The court, however, did not impose any fine on him.

It sentenced co-convict and businessman Rajeev Gupta to one year rigorous imprisonment for destruction of evidence.

His two employees -- Bhola Nath and Shyam Singh -- were, however, awarded six months' jail terms each for washing off blood stains and pieces of victims' flesh from the offending vehicle after the incident.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Gupta and Rs 100 each on his two employees, who were held guilty under Section 201 (destruction of evidence) of the IPC.

The court had on September 2 convicted Nanda under Section 304 Part II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC prescribing a jail term of up to 10 years or fine or both as punishment.

Nanda had crushed six persons to death while driving the BMW car in an inebriated condition in the wee hours of January 10, 1999, at Lodhi Colony in south Delhi.