Hashimpura massacre : Delhi HC sentences 16 PAC men to life imprisonment for killing 42 Muslims

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sentenced 16 policemen to life imprisonment for killing 42 people of a minority community in the 1987 Hashimpura massacre case in Uttar Pradesh.

A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Vinod Goel reversed the trial court's verdict which had acquitted the accused.

The high court convicted 16 former Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel for murder and of kidnapping, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence under the Indian Penal Code. All the 16 convicts have retired from service.

It termed the massacre "targeted killing" of unarmed and defenceless people by the police.

The high court's verdict came on pleas challenging a trial court's decision to acquit 16 policemen of charges of murder and other crimes in the case.