Punia family murder case: Punia's son-in-law released from Karnal jail

Nearly 24 years after the sensational murder of former MLA Relu Ram Punia and seven of his family members, Sanjeev Kumar, son-in-law of Punia, was released on interim bail from Karnal jail today. After release orders were issued by a Hisar court on Friday, Sanjeev also secured release orders from a UP court by furnishing bail bonds in a Bilaspur case today.

A Hisar court had earlier awarded the death penalty to Punia’s daughter Sonia and son-in-law Sanjeev for the murders of their own family members on August 23, 2001. Their mercy petitions were also dismissed by the President. However, in 2014, the Supreme Court commuted their death sentence to life imprisonment, citing delay in the decisions on mercy petitions. Applications for premature release were filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently. The court accepted the applications and has ordered their release on interim bail. The decision on their premature release is still pending.