Meerut, Aug. 14 -- A Muzaffarnagar court on Thursday sentenced four men to death for the 2014 murder of a farmer in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district, imposed a total fine of Rs.1.70 lakh on the four convicts, describing the case as falling under the "rarest of rare" category. The fifth and main accused, notorious criminal Vipul, was killed in a police encounter on July 25, 2026. After Vipul's death, the proceedings against the remaining accused were taken up in a fast-track court. The case dates back to July 14, 2014, when Vipul entered the victim, Pawan Kumar's, house in Bhaveesa village along with several armed associates. According to the prosecution, the attackers were looking for Pawan's elder brother, Ashok Kumar, over an old dispute between Vipul's mother and Kumar's family. Ashok, however, managed to hide inside a room. The assailants then opened indiscriminate fire, hitting Pawan with bullets; he died on the spot, and Ashok was injured. After the shooting, the attackers fled the scene. Following a complaint by the victim's family, a case was registered against Vipul and his associates Ramveer, Rajiv, Rahul and Harendra. Police arrested all five accused on July 14, 2014. They were subsequently released on bail, while the case continued before the court for nearly 12 years.Proceedings against another co-accused, Amit, were separated during the course of the trial. According to government counsel Kuldeep Singh, the court considered the crime to be sufficiently grave to fall within the "rarest of rare" category and therefore imposed capital punishment. The court order mentioned, "Considering the facts and circumstances of the present case, the nature of the offences committed by the convicts, the gravity of the crimes, their criminal history, the adverse impact of the offences on society, and the manner in which the deceased Pawan was murdered, the crime committed was extremely barbaric and brutal. Therefore, in such circumstances, in light of the legal principles laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the offences committed by the convicts Ramveer, Rajeev alias Chhotu, Rahul alias Bosi, and Harendra fall within the "rarest of rare" category."...