Agra: A local court in Agra has sentenced two men to life imprisonment for murdering a man after sexually assaulting him in 2023. The court of additional district judge Dinesh Kumar Chauraisa also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 on the two convicts, rejecting their plea for minimum punishment on Friday.The case dated back to April 21, 2023, when the victim, who worked in the shoe industry, went to attend a birthday party. Police said the two accused were also present at the event and took the man out on a motorcycle on the pretext of consuming alcohol. His body was later recovered from a forested area in Nanpur village under Kiraoli police station limits. Police initially registered a case under IPC section 302 (murder) and both accused were arrested the following day.During the investigation, forensic evidence and the postmortem report revealed signs of sexual assault, leading police to add section 377 (unnatural sex) to the charges. Investigators also uncovered that the two sides had a dispute four months before the incident, following which the accused allegedly conspired to murder the victim.Police filed the chargesheet on May 31, 2023, and the prosecution relied on scientific evidence and witness testimonies to establish motive and intent. During the trial, the two accused denied the charges and claimed their names had been “illegally added in the case”. However, the court found the evidence conclusive and held them guilty of premeditated assault and murder.The duo pleaded for leniency, citing that it was their first offence and that they had dependants. The court, however, refused to entertain the request and said the nature of the crime, along with the evidence of conspiracy and brutality, warranted a life sentence.