Death sentence given to double murder convict (Uttarakhand )

Friday, 30 November 2018 | PNS | Haridwar

Court of Additional district judge (ADJ) Varun Kumar has served death sentence to the convict of the double murder which happened at Ranipur on September 24, 2016. Notably, the convict Sartaj, resident of Govindpur, Dadupur, under the police jurisdiction of Ranipur, had hacked his brother Shehzad and his wife Rukhsana to death after they quarrelled over Rs 50,000. The convict has also been booked for making a murder attempt on his niece. Speaking to The Pioneer, the Government pleader Anil Kumar Rana said that the court has announced the death sentence to Sartaj on Thursday after taking statements of 16 witnesses.

Source: https://www.dailypioneer.com/2018/state-editions/death-sentence-given-to-double-murder-convict.html (Accessed 25 December 2018)

Congress worker murder: CPI(M) leader awarded death sentence (Kerala)

By PTI |Alapuzha |Published: April 21, 2018 4:59:27 pm 

The prosecution case was that Baiju and the others went to the residence of Divakaran on December 9, 2009, to sell a coir product as part of the then Left government's scheme to promote such products. 

R. Baiju, former local secretary of the CPI(M)

A fast track court here on Saturday sentenced a former local secretary of the CPI(M) to death and awarded life imprisonment to five others for the murder of a Congress worker at Chertala in 2009. The Alapuzha Fast Track Court Judge, Anil Kumar, pronounced the verdict this morning. The court found that R Baiju was the main conspirator in the case and awarded the death sentence to him.

The prosecution case was that Baiju and the others went to the residence of Divakaran on December 9, 2009, to sell a coir product as part of the then Left government’s scheme to promote such products. However, Divakaran refused to buy them, saying they were priced too high, leading to a heated argument. He was then hit on the head and suffered serious injuries. He succumbed at a hospital after a week.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/congress-worker-murder-kerala-cpim-leader-awarded-death-sentence-five-get-life-imprisonment-5146397/ (Accessed 24 December 2018)

Death sentence to man for killing minor girl (Uttar Pradesh)

Published: February 10, 2017 5:14 PM IST

Mathura: A man has been awarded death sentence by a court here for killing his friend’s daughter as she resisted rape attempt.

“Additional District Judge Vivekanand Sharan Tripathi, in his verdict pronounced yesterday, also imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on Shyamjeet,” Assistant District Government Counsel (ADGC), Ravinder Kumar Singh, said. “Shyamjeet, a resident of Sarai Salwan village, killed the six-year-old daughter of his friend Nemi Chand when she resisted his rape attempt on August 25 last year,” he said.

Source: https://www.india.com/news/agencies/death-sentence-to-man-for-killing-minor-girl-1828321/  (Accessed 23 December 2018)

Inmates on death row under strict vigil (Punjab)

Oct 4, 2016, 1:43 AM, Patiala, October 3
Manish Sirhindi

The incident

• Jasbir and Vikram Singh, along with the former’s wife Sonia, had been awarded death sentence by a Hoshiarpur court in September 2005 after they were found guilty of kidnapping and then murdering Abhi Verma (16) for ransom in February 2005. 
• They had demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh from Abhi’s goldsmith father Ravi Verma. Abhi was injected with chloroform and fortwin in heavy doses after tying his both hands and legs and sealing his mouth with a tape to prevent detection of offence.

The in-house gallows on the premises of the Patiala Central Jail, which are a remnant from colonial times and were last put to use in June 1989, are likely to see the hanging of Jasbir Singh and his brother-in-law, Vikram Singh, whose mercy petition was recently rejected by the President of India. The two were convicted for kidnapping and then murdering Abhi Verma (16), son of Hoshiarpur-based goldsmith Ravi Verma in 2005.

The last hanging in Punjab was executed on June 16, 1989, when two brothers from Dayalgarh village of Sangrur, Gurcharan Singh and Pritam Singh, were hanged in the Central Jail, Patiala. The hanging was performed by hangman Kaloo, who was specially summoned from the Tihar Jail in Delhi for the job.Meanwhile, according to sources in the jail, the two inmates have been put under strict vigil and their movement has been restricted to 32-chakkiyan cell, where they have spent their time while in prison. 

A file photo of the Patiala Central Jail where Jasbir Singh and Vikram Singh have been kept under tight security.

The sources said the two were now being allowed to move out of their cell only for an hour in the morning and evening. Besides, a jail guard has been put outside their cell to keep a round the clock watch. Jasbir and Vikram Singh, along with former’s wife Sonia, had been awarded death sentence by a Hoshiarpur court in September 2005 after they were found guilty of kidnapping and then murdering Abhi Verma (16) for ransom in February 2005. They had demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh from Abhi’s goldsmith father Ravi Verma. Abhi was injected with chloroform and fortwin in heavy doses after tying his both hands and legs and sealing his mouth with a tape to prevent detection of offence.

The trial court had on September 3, 2005, convicted the trio under Sections 302 (murder), 364-A (kidnapping for ransom), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced all of them to death. Later, the High Court had on May 30, 2008, confirmed the death sentence awarded to the three accused. The convicts filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, which on January 25, 2010, upheld the death sentence in case of Vikram and Jasbir. However, Sonia’s death sentence was commuted to life sentence.

Following this, the duo moved another petition in the High Court challenging the legality of convicting them under Section 364-A of the IPC. However, the HC Bench rejected their petition, after which they were handed death warrants, which were to be executed on October 5, 2012. They moved Supreme Court and the death warrants were stayed till October 12, 2012. In between, they moved a mercy petition before the President of India and the execution was delayed. The President of India returned their plea asking them to approach the Punjab Governor. In 2013, the Punjab Governor dismissed their plea and they again moved a plea before the President of India, who dismissed their plea in August this year.

The matter was again taken up in the Hoshiarpur Sessions Court and on September 27, the court re-issued their death warrants, which are now to be executed on October 25 at 9 am on the premises of the Patiala Central Jail. Jail Superintendent Bhupinderjit Singh Virk said they had informed the DGP (Prison) about the preparations being made in this regard.

Abhi Verma

Time line

• The trial court had on September 3, 2005, convicted the trio under Sections 302 (murder), 364-A (kidnapping for ransom), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced all of them to death.
• Later, the High Court had on May 30, 2008, confirmed the death sentence awarded to the three accused. The convicts filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, which on January 25, 2010, upheld the death sentence in case of Vikram and Jasbir. However, Sonia’s death sentence was commuted to life sentence.
• Following this, the duo moved another petition in the High Court challenging the legality of convicting them under Section 364-A of the IPC. However, the HC Bench rejected their petition, after which they were handed death warrants, which were to be executed on October 5, 2012.
• They moved the Supreme Court and the death warrants were stayed till October 12, 2012. In between, they moved a mercy petition before the President of India and the execution was delayed.
• The President of India returned their plea asking them to approach the Punjab Governor. In 2013, the Punjab Governor dismissed their plea and they again moved a plea before the President of India, who dismissed their plea in August this year.
• The matter was again taken up in the Hoshiarpur Sessions Court and on September 27, the court re-issued their death warrants, which are now to be executed on October 25 at 9 am on the premises of the Patiala Central Jail.

Source: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/chandigarh/community/inmates-on-death-row-under-strict-vigil/304611.html (Accessed 20 December 2018)

Jigisha Ghosh murder case: Two convicts get death sentence, life imprisonment for one (New Delhi)

Written by Aamir Khan |New Delhi |Updated: August 23, 2016 7:21:02 pm 

Jigisha, an operations manager at Hewitt Associates Pvt Ltd in Noida, was abducted and murdered in March 2009. 

Pointing out the need to curb “gruesome crimes” against women, a Delhi sessions court Monday awarded the death penalty to two of the three men convicted of abducting and killing IT executive Jigisha Ghosh in 2009.“Crime in the present case was committed against a woman. Gruesome crimes against women are on the rise in recent years,” observed Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav. The court, therefore, decided not to show any leniency in such cases as it would have sent a “very wrong message” to the society and “encourage” criminals like the three convicts.

“Passing appropriate sentence in such cases will go a long way in arresting the increasing trend of crime against women,” said the court. It added that “protection of the society and deterring criminals was the avowed object of law, achieved by imposing appropriate punishment”. While Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla were awarded capital punishment, Baljeet Malik was sentenced to life imprisonment, given the scope of his reformation. The trio had been held guilty earlier this year under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code including murder, abduction and robbery. 

Following the conviction of the accused, the court had directed the Delhi government to appoint a Probationary Officer (PO) to get information from the jail, a clinical psychologist, sociologist, parents of the convicts and their neighbours on the conduct of the accused. The report, deliberating whether or not the convicts could be reformed, was relied upon by the court before it decided on the quantum of their punishment. 

The court observed that the crime was carried out “in cold blood” and in an “inhuman and cruel” manner. “The innocent, helpless and vulnerable victim remained in the captivity of the convicts for hours. The victim pleaded to the convicts not to take her life. She handed over her debit card and other belongings to the convicts. She also disclosed to them her debit card PIN number. However, the convicts were satisfied only by brutally mauling her to death. In other words, the convicts behaved in an uncivilised and barbaric manner against a helpless girl,” said the court. According to the court, which took into consideration the PO’s report, the “magnitude” and “brutality” shown by the convicts while killing Jigisha was enough for the case to fall in the “rarest of rare” category.

In Kapoor’s case, the PO did not see any room for reformation. The report asserted that the convict, if shown leniency, would be a threat to the society. “Since there is no possibility of reformation and rehabilitation of Kapoor, and apprehension that he will continue to be a threat to the society, the convict deserves death penalty,” the court observed from the report. For Shukla too, the PO’s report sought death penalty, pointing out his notorious behaviour and unsatisfactory conduct. “It is also mentioned in the report that an extortion case was registered against convict Amit Shukla while he was in jail,” said the court.

The report also said Shukla had been booked in seven other cases, including a murder case, and sought death penalty. Contrary to the report on the duo’s conduct, Malik was found to be “good-natured” and showed “scope of improvement”. “Baljeet Malik has been a well-behaved boy in his village. He was 20 at the time of commission of crime. It appears he got involved in the crime because of his association with bad elements and, hence, he should be given a chance to reform and rehabilitate himself,” said the court. The court also found it to be a fit case of compensation to the victim’s parents. Taking note of a report filed by the case’s investigating officer Atul Kumar, the court observed that Shukla and Baljeet were financially sound and had both moveable and immovable properties.

Of the total fine imposed on the three convicts, the court directed that Rs 6 lakh in compensation be paid to the parents of the victims. “No amount of compensation can alleviate the agony, pain and trauma of the parents of the victim… However, monetary compensation would provide some solace,” said the court. The District Legal Service Authority (south), has also been directed to provide adequate monetary aid to Jigisha’s parents. 

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/jigisha-ghosh-murder-verdict-death-for-2-life-for-1-2990018/

TN can’t release Rajiv killers without consulting Centre, says Supreme Court

Written by Utkarsh Anand |New Delhi |Updated: December 3, 2015 12:15:13 am

The judgment is a setback to J Jayalalithaa’s government in Tamil Nadu which had in February 2014 decided to release all the seven convicts in the case. 

Blocking the release of seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, the Supreme Court Wednesday said state governments cannot remit jail terms of convicts in cases of national importance without the Centre’s approval. The court blocked the J Jayalaithaa-led Tamil Nadu government’s move to free all seven convicts, and said no remission can be granted by “putting the interest of the nation in peril”. Regretting that “lawlessness is the order of the day”, the Constitution Bench held that a state government cannot be allowed to exercise its power of remission and free convicts in cases which have been investigated by central agencies such as CBI and NIA and where offences entail death penalty or conviction is for an offence relating to Executive Power of the Union. 

The bench, led by Chief Justice H L Dattu, held that cases such as the killing of a former prime minister would mean assassinating “national figures of very high status by resorting to diabolic criminal conduct” and that “such a situation should necessarily be taken as the one coming within the category of internal or external aggression”. The judgment, by a 3:2 majority, noted that granting the Centre overriding authority in cases of national importance “cannot held to be interfering with the independent existence of the state concerned”. While Justice F M I Kalifulla, the author of the verdict, and Justice P C Ghose wrote the majority judgment with the CJI, Justice Uday U Lalit and Justice Abhay M Sapre concurred with them on all issues except one legal point.

Murugan-Santhan-and-Perarivalan

The two judges differed on whether there can be a “special” category of punishment beyond 14 years in jail and if the power of the state government for remission can be curtailed. Underscoring that life imprisonment means jail term till the end of one’s natural life, the majority verdict held that there is no bar on a high court and the top court to sentence a convict to 20 or 30 years in jail without benefit of remission. Referring to the Rajiv Gandhi case, the court said: “We find no scope to apply the concept of ray of hope to come to the rescue of such hardened, heartless offenders, which if considered in their favour will only result in misplaced sympathy and again will not be in the interest of society. Therefore, we reject the said argument outright.” It also criticised the Tamil Nadu government for exercising its power of remission “suo motu”.

The bench ruled that no state can carry out this exercise suo motu and there has to be an application by the convict first. On February 18, 2014, the apex court had commuted death sentence of three convicts in the case — Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan — due to inordinate delay by the executive in deciding their mercy plea. The next day, the Tamil Nadu government suo motu ordered the release of all seven life convicts. The Centre then rushed to the court on February 20, 2014 and got their release stayed. The bench then framed seven questions and referred it to a Constitution Bench. After Wednesday’s verdict, the case has been sent back to the three-judge bench.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/convicts-in-rajiv-gandhi-assassination-case-will-remain-behind-bars-sc-rules/ (Accessed on 19 December 2018)

TCS techie rape, murder case: Driver Chandrabhan Sanap sentenced to death

India Today in Mumbai October 30, 2015 UPDATED: October 30, 2015 18:23 IST

A Mumbai court on Friday awarded death sentence to Chandrabhan Sanap, who was convicted of rape and murder of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) techie in the city last year. 

Mumbai court on Friday awarded death sentence to Chandrabhan Sanap, who was convicted of rape and murder of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) techie in the city last year. Announcing the quantum of punishment, the a Mumbai Sessions Court termed the case as rarest of rare. Software engineer Esther Anuhya, who was employed with TCS in Mumbai, was raped and murdered, by Sanap in January 2014.

Anuhya, 23, hailed from Andhra Pradesh, had gone to her native place to celebrate Christmas and New Year. While returning to Mumbai, she had alighted at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus on January 5 after which she went missing. Her decomposed body was found off the Eastern Express Highway on January 16. After scrutiny of 36 CCTVs' footages at the railway station and grilling of about 2,500 people, investigators stumbled upon Sanap, who confessed to have killed Anuhya after a failed rape attempt. According to police, Sanap spotted Anuhya sitting alone at the railway station and offered to drop her off at Andheri on his two-wheeler. Sanap took her to an isolated spot and strangled her when she resisted his attempt to rape her.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/tcs-techie-rape-murder-case-driver-chandrabhan-sanap-sentenced-to-death-270567-2015-10-30 (Accessed on 19 December 2018)

Man gets death penalty for rape & murder of minor girl

Press Trust of India | Thane Last Updated at November 27, 2014 21:50 IST

A 24-year-old man was today awarded death sentence by a court for the rape and murder of a minor girl here in 2010. Parkash Zinak Nishad alias Kewat, a resident of Bhayander, a Mumbai suburb, was pronounced guilty by Thane Additional Sessions Judge S J Kale. The Judge awarded death sentence to Nishad under IPC Section 302 (murder), holding the case as the "rarest of the rare" and also varying jail terms, including life sentence, for other offences related to the case like rape and causing disappearance of evidence.

Additional Public Prosecutor Sanjay Lodhe said the six -year-old victim and the convict, who is married, were neighbours. On June 11, 2010 when the girl was playing outside her residence after dinner, Nishad picked her up and took to his house where he sexually assaulted the minor. He subsequently murdered the girl and dumped her body in a 'nullah' where it was spotted the next morning, the court was told. The accused was arrested while he was planning to flee from the locality.

The prosecution examined 13 witnesses, including the parents of the girl. The court accepted the submissions made by the prosecution like medical and DNA reports and also relied on circumstantial and other evidence before arriving at the guilty verdict.

Source: https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/man-gets-death-penalty-for-rape-murder-of-minor-girl-114112701335_1.html (Accessed on 19 December 2018)

Madhya Pradesh: Man gets death sentence for wife's murder

Last Updated: Friday, May 8, 2015 - 22:55

Shahdol: A district and sessions court in Madhya Pradesh has awarded capital punishment to a man for murdering his wife in a brutal way. 

The incident had taken place at Seoni village under Jaithari police station area.

District judge Anand Mohan Khare of Annoopur sentenced Phoolchand Rathore (51) to death yesterday for killing his wife by banging her head on a railway track on February 1, 2010.

They had had a quarrel over disappearance of jewellery before the incident, according to the prosecution.

Public prosecutor Ram Naresh Tripathi said that Rathore's daughter appeared as a prosecution witness and told the court that her father took away her mother on that day forcibly and later she was found dead.

PTI

Source: http://zeenews.india.com/news/madhya-pradesh/man-gets-death-sentence-for-wifes-murder_1592279.html [last accessed 25.08.2015]

Man gets death for killing woman

A Selvaraj, TNN | Nov 14, 2013, 07.09 AM IST CHENNAI: A shop owner who killed a 65-year-old woman for her jewellery and hid her body in a freezer box was sentenced to death by a court in Poonamallee on Wednesday, more than two years after the ghastly killing. The murder came to light more than a month later when the body was recovered from the shop in Maduravoyal. Third additional sessions court judge R Ravindra Bose also imposed a seven-year jail term on the accused, V Muthuselvam, 26, for trying to kill another woman. According to the prosecution, Muthuselvam, a resident of Nerkundram, had a provision store on Patel Road in Maduravoyal. After he incurred huge losses in operating a chit fund and constructing a house for himself, he devised a plan to snatch gold from elderly women. The victim, R Jayalakshmi, came to the shop for some provisions on February 22, 2011 and he gave her some coins as change after she paid for the items she bought. He asked her to come into the shop and count the coins. When she entered, he gagged her and slit her throat with a knife. He then put the body in a gunny bag and dumped it inside a freezer box. Muthuselvam thought he would dispose of the body later and returned home. Police recovered the body 37 days later, after some of the neighbours complained of foul smell emanating from Muthuselvam's shop. In the meanwhile, Muthuselvam tried to kill his neighbour Bhavani, 24, and snatch her chain on March 11, 2011. Bhavani escaped and lodged a police complaint, based on which he was arrested. "When the Maduravoyal police recovered Jayalakshmi's body from the freezer box at Muthuselvam's shop, he was in Puzhal prison for attacking and snatching gold jewellery from Bhavani," Koyambedu assistant commissioner of police S Senthil Kumaran told TOI. The then investigating officer, inspector P Sahadevan of Maduravoyal police station, questioned Muthuselvam in connection with Jayalakshmi's murder after taking him into custody. Based on his confession, police recovered the stolen gold jewellery pledged at a private finance firm. "This is the first time in a decade that a murder accused is getting the death sentence in the city. The judge reviewed all evidences produced by the enforcement agency before awarding the punishment," public prosecutor Andaman K Murugan told TOI. Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Man-gets-death-for-killing-woman/articleshow/25732436.cms?intenttarget=no [accessed on 15th Nov 2013]

Man sentenced to death for rape and murder

The Mavelikara Additional District and Sessions Court-II on Thursday sentenced to death Viswarajan, 22, of Oachira who was found guilty of the rape and murder of a 34-year-old widow and the mother of a teenaged girl. Pronouncing the sentence, the Judge A.Badarudheen said the court was awarding death penalty as it was the ‘rarest of rare cases.' The Court also asked the accused, Viswarajan, alias ‘Karumadi' of Santhosh Bhavan in Vayanakam in Oachira to pay a penalty of Rs.1 lakh to the victim's daughter. If the convicted person failed to pay the penalty, he would have to undergo additional Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) of six months. Special Public Prosecutor S. Remanan Pillai said Viswarajan had also been sentenced to six months Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) under Section 342 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (wrongful confinement) and five years RI under Section 376 read with 511 (attempt to rape). The sentences will, however, run concurrently. Habitual offender The judge observed that the accused was a habitual offender and was a threat to the community. Mr. Pillai said the accused had two charges of rape and assault against him in the Ochira police station pending trial and another case of abducting a minor girl and sexually exploiting her. The death sentence was based on ‘circumstantial evidence,' he said. A large crowd of people were present when the verdict was pronounced at 11 a.m. The accused was brought out of the court nearly three hours later, at 2 p.m., and taken in a police vehicle to Thiruvananthapuram Central Jail at Poojapura. A heavy deployment of police under Kayamkulam Deputy Superintendent of Police S. Devamanohar, who also supervised the investigation, was present at the court. The incident occurred at 7 p.m. on October 24, 2011 when the victim was returning home. The accused who was hiding in the dark grabbed the victim and beat her unconscious before sexually assaulting her. He later pushed her into a paddy field. The police and local people rushed her to a hospital. However, she died while being shifted to the Alappuzha Medical College Hospital. The investigation was led by Kayamkulam Circle Inspector A.N.Shanihan, who submitted the report to the court.

Source : http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article3477458.ece