Man gets life for murder of 4-yr-old stepson in 2017

A sessions court in Vasai on Tuesday sentenced a 28-year-old man to life imprisonment for murdering his four-year-old stepson in November 2017. The judge, SR Wadali,

A sessions court in Vasai on Tuesday sentenced a 28-year-old man to life imprisonment for murdering his four-year-old stepson in November 2017. The judge, SR Wadali, also imposed a fine of ₹5,000 on the accused, Vikas Jaiswal.

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The accused, a waiter at a catering firm, used to live with his wife, Puja, and three of her children from her first marriage in a flat in Santosh Bhuvan, Nallasopara (East). Additional public prosecutor, Jaiprakash Patil, said Jaiswal had a bad temper and used to often quarrel with his neighbour. After one fight, Jaiswal had warned his three stepsons to not play with the neighbour’s son.

However, on November 10, 2017, his four-year-old stepson, Piyush, sneaked out of the flat to play with the neighbour’s son. Angered, Jaiswal dragged Piyush back home. He hit the child with a broom several times, before shoving his head in a bucket of water. As water entered the child’s lungs, he died, said Patil.

Jaiswal had warned his two other sons to not tell anyone, but they informed Puja, who used to work at a Vasai factory. Although Jaiswal lied to her that Piyush drowned in the bucket, the post-mortem report revealed otherwise, said Patil, following which Tulinj police arrested him for murder. He was lodged in Thane Central Jail and his bail application was rejected, said Patil. “During the trial, we examined 11 witnesses and the court convicted Jaiswal for murder,” said Patil.