In a significant ruling, a Jhalawar court has handed down sentences to a suspended police officer, the spouse of a slain Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer, and several accomplices involved in a murder case. The suspended officer received a life sentence along with a fine of ₹1 lakh, while the IB officer's wife and another co-defendant were sentenced to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment.

One individual was acquitted due to insufficient evidence.

The case revolves around the death of Chetan Prakash Galav, a senior technical officer with the IB, whose body was discovered at a railway station in Ralayta, Jhalawar, in February 2018.

Initially, authorities treated the incident as a suicide under Section 174 of the CrPC. However, following a request from the officer's father, who suspected foul play, the investigation was reopened and classified as a murder case.

Investigators alleged that Galav's wife, Anita Meena, a school teacher, conspired with her lover Praveen Rathore, the suspended officer, and Sharukh Khan, an RTO agent hired for ₹3 lakh, to orchestrate the murder.

The group, which included Santosh Nirmal, a private nurse, and another accused named Farhan, along with a minor, plotted to eliminate Galav.

The court found Rathore (35) and Khan guilty of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder under the IPC and SC/ST Act, sentencing them to life imprisonment and imposing a fine of ₹1 lakh each, as confirmed by public prosecutor Dipesh Bhardwaj.

Meena and Nirmal were convicted of conspiracy and murder, receiving 14-year prison terms.

While Farhan was acquitted, the minor is set to face trial in juvenile court.

The investigation into Galav's murder gained momentum with Khan's arrest four months post-incident. He allegedly kidnapped Galav with the assistance of two neighbors and fatally injected him with a lethal dose of Ketamine, with the drugs supplied by Nirmal.

Further inquiries following Meena's arrest unveiled shocking details, revealing that this was the fifth attempt on Galav's life.