Serial killer Monu Kumar, already serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of an MBA student, has been sentenced to life imprisonment in another case – the rape and murder of a 40-year-old woman from Maloya in January 2022.
Additional sessions judge Yashika of the fast-track special court (rape & POCSO casea) pronounced the sentence on Friday. The life term, along with a ₹7.5 lakh fine, was awarded under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
Under Section 376-E (punishment for repeat offenders convicted of rape), he was again sentenced to life and fined ₹50,000. Both sentences will run concurrently. In case of non-payment of the fines, he will undergo an additional six months’ imprisonment.
The court also directed that the period Kumar had already spent in custody during the investigation and trial be set off against his sentence.
The victim, wife of an auto-rickshaw driver and a resident of Maloya, was killed on the night of January 11, 2022. She had gone to the market, and was never to be seen alive again. Her body was found in the bushes the next day, a short distance from her house. The manner of her killing was similar to that in the rape and murder of an MBA student in 2010.
The student’s body was found just a few miles away from her residence in Sector 38 West. The case remained unsolved until Kumar, a taxi driver, was arrested for the murder of a 55-year-old woman whose body was found in a forested area in Sector 54 in February 2024. During investigation, he allegedly confessed to the rape and murder of the Maloya woman as well as the 2010 rape and murder of the MBA student.
{{/usCountry}}The student’s body was found just a few miles away from her residence in Sector 38 West. The case remained unsolved until Kumar, a taxi driver, was arrested for the murder of a 55-year-old woman whose body was found in a forested area in Sector 54 in February 2024. During investigation, he allegedly confessed to the rape and murder of the Maloya woman as well as the 2010 rape and murder of the MBA student.
{{/usCountry}}During the sentencing, Kumar sought leniency, submitting that he was the only person looking after his mother, had medical issues and had remained in custody throughout the trial. His counsel also argued that there was no direct evidence against him and sought consideration of his period in custody.
The prosecution opposed the plea, pointing out that Kumar had already been convicted in another case. The court observed that the offence involved the loss of a human life and described Kumar’s act as “brutal and dastardly”. It, however, held that the case did not fall within the “rarest of rare” category warranting the death penalty.