HC upholds life term of murder convict

The Bombay High Court has upheld the life sentence of a 60-year-old man who killed Vidya Prabhudesai (42) by setting her on fire.

The Bombay High Court has upheld the life sentence of a 60-year-old man who killed Vidya Prabhudesai (42) by setting her on fire.

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A division bench of Justice P.B. Majmudar and Justice R.G. Ketkar upheld the conviction of Rasiklal Solanki (60) for murdering Prabhudesai , who was employed as a typist with the Reserve Bank of India.

Solanki, a tailor, was supposedly in love with Prabhudesai and had proposed to her, which the latter had denied but Solanki kept pursuing her.

According to the prosecution, on June 23, 2000, around 9.30 am, when Prabhudesai was at the Nair Hospital’s junction near Maratha Mandir theatre, Solanki poured kerosene on her and set her on fire.

Prabhudesai was rushed to the Nair hospital, but she succumbed to burn injuries that very evening. She had suffered 98 per cent burns.

In July 2002, a sessions court convicted Solanki to life imprisonment.

He then approached the high court challenging this sentence, but the HC too rejected his appeal.

Additional Public Prosecutor Mankunwar Deshmukh opposed Solanki’s appeal stating that they have evidence of an eyewitness in the case.