Bhubaneswar, March 16: Gangster Sheikh Hyder and seven others were today sentenced to life for a crime committed in the capital almost six years ago.

Hyder and his accomplices had been convicted for killing Sheikh Chuna alias Malik Hanan, brother of gangster Sheikh Suleiman. However, one of Hyder’s aides, Kasur Niaz Khan, would have to serve a five-year prison term for offences committed under the Arms Act.

Delivering the judgment, additional sessions judge, Bhubaneswar, awarded life terms to Hyder, Sheikh Roman, Sheikh Lala, Sudam Sunder Satpathy, Tuku alias Abdul Nayeem Khan, Bablu alias Naseerudddin Ahmad, Sheikh Mir Askar and Siba Prasad Mohanty alias Babji. They were also asked to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 each failing which they would have to undergo two years in prison. However, Kasur will have to pay a fine of Rs 20,000.

The lawyer for the convicts said they would move Orissa High Court against the verdict. This is the first case in which Hyder, a history-sheeter, has been convicted.

Chuna (40) was gunned down near the Stewart School on May 31, 2005. After killing Chuna, the criminals had sped away in a Bolero.

Chuna’s brother Suleiman had been a sworn enemy of Hyder, whose name still spells terror in parts of Kendrapara.

Later, Hyder and most others involved in the murder were arrested from Nagpur, where they had escaped after committing the crime that had shocked the Capital.

In his verdict, the judge said: “The convicts caused a barbaric and ghastly murder of a middle-aged person in a posh locality and in the sight of a number of people which created havoc and terror in the locality.” Hence, the judge concluded, that the accused did not deserve any sympathy.

Pointing out that material available on record showed that the accused had reached the spot of crime with the intention of committing the murder.

The judgment said the prosecution had proved the case beyond all reasonable doubt against all the accused persons except Kasur Niaz Khan. Kasur was held guilty for offences under the Arms Act.

The judgment brought back memories of the bloody gang war between the gangs of Hyder, Suleiman and Tito in Kendrapara with almost all of them later expanding their crime empire beyond the limits of the district.

In fact, Hyder and his men have been involved in crimes in several other parts of the state, while Tito and Suleiman, who was killed a few years ago, had later taken to fixing government tenders by threatening officials.