A court in neighbouring Palghar district has awarded life imprisonment to a 30-year-old man for killing a housewife after robbing her of her valuables in 2013.
Additional Sessions Judge M P Divate of the Vasai court yesterday awarded the punishment to Devendra Ramchandar Mishra, a plumber, after pronouncing him guilty under IPC sections 302 (murder), 396 (dacoity with murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence).
The judge also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on him.
Prosecutor Ujwala Moholkar told the court that the victim, Anjana Rajiv Shinde (35), and her husband had bought a flat at Nariya Nagar in Nala Sopara area of Palghar district.
The flat required some plumbing work for which the accused was called.
On January 23, 2013, Mishra, on the pretext of carrying out the plumbing work, entered into the bathroom of the apartment. He then dragged the victim into the bathroom and attacked her with a hard and blunt object, killing her on the spot.
The accused later dragged the body into the flat’s living room and fled after taking away the woman’s mobile phone and jewellery.
The case rested on circumstantial evidence and the prosecution argued that the motive behind the murder was robbery.
The blood stains on the clothes of the accused matched with that of the victim and the stolen items were also recovered from the him, according to the prosecution.
( Source – PTI )
