Mainather: 16 Convicts Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Attack on Then-DIG

March 28, 2026

In a major verdict regarding the highly publicized 15-year-old Mainather incident in Moradabad, a court has sentenced 16 accused individuals to life imprisonment for their conviction in a case involving a murderous assault on the then-DIG. Additional District Judge (ADJ-II) Krishna Kumar’s court issued this order on Saturday, following the conclusion of the arguments regarding the quantum of punishment.

Earlier, on March 23, the court had found all 16 accused individuals guilty. Strict security arrangements were put in place within the court premises during the pronouncement of the sentence. The convicts were produced before the court while in police custody. Upon hearing the verdict, the family members of the convicts were left stunned.

The incident occurred on July 6, 2011, in Asalatnagar Bagha village, located within the jurisdiction of the Mainather police station, when the police arrived to conduct a raid in search of an accused individual. During the raid, locals began protesting, alleging that a religious text had been desecrated. The situation escalated into violence in no time.

The irate mob blocked the Moradabad-Sambhal road at three different locations and set fire to the Mainather police station and the Dingarpur police outpost. Upon receiving information about the incident, the then-DIG Ashok Kumar and District Magistrate (DM) Rajshekhar rushed to the scene, where they were surrounded by the mob. During this confrontation, the DIG was assaulted, and his service pistol was snatched away.

In connection with the case, an FIR was registered against 33 named individuals and approximately 300 unidentified persons, based on a written complaint filed by PRO Ravi Kumar. Following the investigation, a chargesheet was filed against 25 accused individuals; however, the files of six of these accused were transferred to the Juvenile Justice Board as they were minors. Three of the accused individuals have passed away during the course of the trial.