Abolish Death Penalty India: Karnataka man gets death sentence for drowning three children in well, attempting wife’s murder: Report

Thursday, January 2, 2025

Karnataka man gets death sentence for drowning three children in well, attempting wife’s murder: Report

By HT News Desk

Updated on: Jan 02, 2025 02:09 pm IST

Additionally, the court imposed a fine of ₹10,000 and instructed the District Legal Services Authority to provide financial assistance to his wife. A 43-year-old man from Karnataka has been sentenced to death for the heinous crime of killing his three children and attempting to murder his wife.

The incident took place in 2022 and shocked the residents of Thalipady village near Mangaluru, Indian Express reported. The third Additional District and Sessions Court in Mangaluru, presided over by Judge Sandhya S, handed the death penalty to Hitesh Shettigar, also known as Hithesh Kumar, on Tuesday, the report added. Shettigar was found guilty of pushing his three children—Rashmitha (4), Uday Kumar (11), and Dakshith alias Daksh (4)—into an open well on June 23, 2022. He also tried to push his wife, Lakshmi, into the same well, but she survived. Investigations revealed that Shettigar had stopped working after the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving his family in financial distress, the report added. Lakshmi, who worked as a beedi roller and at a local hotel, became the sole breadwinner. Despite her efforts, Shettigar allegedly refused to contribute financially or seek steady employment.

Mangaluru's third Additional District and Sessions Court Judge Sandhya S awarded the death sentence to Hitesh Shettigar, also known as Hithesh Kumar, who was arrested in 2022 for killing his children

What happened on June 23, 2022?

The day of the incident unfolded when Lakshmi returned home from work to find her children missing. Shettigar feigned concern and joined her in the search, while the children had already drowned in the well. According to reports, the children clung to a submersible pump before succumbing. When Lakshmi discovered what had happened, Shettigar pushed her into the well as well. However, her screams alerted a neighbor, Mohammed Nasrathullah, who intervened and saved her. The Mulki police, led by Inspector Kusumadhar, built the case with testimonies from 32 witnesses, including neighbors and family members. The court convicted Shettigar under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for murder, sentencing him to death, and under Section 307 for attempted murder, sentencing him to 10 years in prison. Additionally, the court imposed a fine of ₹10,000 and instructed the District Legal Services Authority to provide financial assistance to Lakshmi, acknowledging the devastating impact on her life.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/bengaluru-news/karnataka-man-gets-death-sentence-for-drowning-three-children-in-well-attempting-wife-s-murder-report-101735806574782.html

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The Death Penalty Scenario in India

India is one of 193 countries that retains the death penalty. Some judges have delivered landmark verdicts upholding the rights of death row prisoners, while debates continue advocating abolition or reform of sentencing policies. The Indian government remains committed to retention, asserting executions occur only in “rarest of rare” cases. The death penalty applies to crimes including murder, kidnapping, terrorism, desertion, inducement to suicide of a minor or mentally-retarded person, and in certain cases of rape. Outrage over child rape and murder has intensified these discussions. After an unofficial eight-year moratorium, the government executed Ajmal Kasab (Mumbai attacks) in 2012 and Afzal Guru (Parliament attack) in 2013, both covertly and immediately after mercy petitions were rejected. Prior to this, Dhananjoy Chatterjee was executed in 2004 after 13 years on death row. Following these, many mercy petitions have been rejected, creating fear among death row convicts. Courts continue to hand down death sentences at an increasing rate. Empirical studies highlight the plight of death row prisoners. The India Exclusion Report 2017-18 found fair trial rights largely denied, with convicts often marginalized by caste, religion, poverty, and education. The Death Penalty Research Project (2015) documented socio-economic profiles and experiences of death row prisoners. Dr. Reena Mary George’s studies (2014, 2009) emphasized poverty, social exclusion, and dignity as central to death row experiences, and examined the human rights impact of the penalty. According to the National Crime Records Bureau 2015, 101 prisoners were on death row, with many sentences commuted to life. The “rarest of rare” doctrine introduced by the Supreme Court in the 1980s has not substantially limited death sentences, which have increased over the decades. Justice Joseph (2018) reaffirmed the Bachan Singh judgment but urged restriction of the death penalty to only those cases meeting its criteria. While updating the blog and conducting my own empirical studies, I observed the heinous nature of the crimes that were committed and thought about the families, about their loss, about the victims who for no fault of their own died. If I lost my relative or a dear friend, would I still oppose death penalty and would I still advocate to abolish the death sentence? Having worked in the criminal justice system and also having the seen the other side, where often it is the marginalized, vulnerable and oppressed who are on death row makes me want to advocate for abolition of this punishment. Victims should definitely get justice for their loss, for their pain. No one should escape the rule of law. As long as humanity exists; crime will exist. Should we not re-consider our sentencing policies? Reena Mary George