Ranchi, Sep 3 (IANS): The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday stayed the life sentence awarded by the lower court to the three accused Jitendra Singh, Amlesh Singh and Vinod Singh in the murder case of Ashish Dey, owner of famous shoe brand Sreeleathers, in Jamshedpur.

Ashish Dey was gunned down by bike-borne shooters on November 2, 2007, near Sakchi Mango Garden in Jamshedpur when he was leaving his residence to go to his shop. The criminals had demanded a huge amount of extortion money from him following which he was shot dead in public. In this case, an FIR was lodged in Sakchi police station on the complaint of Ashish Dey’s manager Tapas Pal.

The accused in the murder case also included Jharkhand's famous gangsters Akhilesh Singh and Vikram Sharma, who had already been acquitted by the lower court.

On the basis of the testimony of six people including Ashish Dey's wife, the lower court of Jamshedpur sentenced Jitendra Kumar Singh, Amlesh Kumar Singh and Vinod Kumar Singh to life imprisonment on September 17, 2011. Later, Amlesh Singh and Vinod Kumar Singh were granted bail by the Supreme Court.

A criminal appeal was filed by the three accused in the Jharkhand High Court against the life sentence.

Earlier on August 13, the High Court had reserved the decision after the completion of arguments. The court finally on Tuesday delivered the judgment.