New Delhi, India: September 5, 2008 – IR Summary/Agencies – A Delhi Court here today has sentenced Sanjeev Nanda to five years  imprisonment in the BMW hit-and-run case after the main accused Sanjeev Nanda and three others were found guilty in the case wherein six persons including 3 constables were killed in 1999.

The court found the main accused guilty u/s 304 (2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), dealing with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The law prescribes ten years imprisonment as maximum punishment.

The court also convicted three others, head of General Motor Finance Rajiv Gupta and his two servants Bhola Nath and Shyam Singh -- for destruction of evidence as they had washed the blood stains and victims' flesh pieces from the offending vehicle at a house in Golf Links area here.

Manik Kapoor, a friend of Nanda, who was in the vehicle at the time of the accident, was acquitted.

The ten-year-old case involving Nanda, son of arms dealer Suresh Nanda and grandson of former Navy chief S.M. Nanda, allegedly in an inebriated state is accused of mowing down seven people with his high speeding BMW car in the wee hours of January 10, 1999 in Lodhi Colony area. Six persons died on the spot while one survived.

 Earlier, another co-accused, Sidhartha Gupta, son of Rajiv Gupta, accused by the police of being present in the car at the time of the accident, was later discharged by the Delhi High Court.

Co-accused Rajeev Gupta has got one year in jail, Bhola Shyam has got six months.

Nanda has already undergone nine months in jail, which will be deducted from these five years.