Mumbai: Court upholds life term for man who killed girlfriend

The Bombay high court (HC) has upheld the life term handed down to a 31-year-old Thane resident for killing his 21-year-old girlfriend because she refused to marry him.

The Bombay high court (HC) has upheld the life term handed down to a 31-year-old Thane resident for killing his 21-year-old girlfriend because she refused to marry him.

A division bench of justice VK Tahilramani and justice IK Jain dismissed the appeal filed by Prashant Pawar, noting the prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.

The incident took place on June 23, 2007, on a busy road in Thane. According to the prosecution, Pawar and the woman, 21-year-old Sushma were having an affair. After Sushma’s parents learned about it, they started inquiring about the man and found out he was an alcoholic. They persuaded their daughter not to see him again. Pawar, however, kept following her, because of which the girl left her job.

A few days later, Pawar came to her house in an inebriated condition and created a ruckus. So Sushma went to her native place for a few days.

A month later, she returned and resumed job on June 21, 2007. Two days later, Pawar stabbed her 23 times with a knife and later stabbed himself.

The court found the evidence of the woman’s parents “truthful and reliable” and upheld the conviction. Besides, the high court also took into consideration the evidence of a press photographer, Anil, who had taken photographs of both Sushma and Pawar lying on the road in a pool of blood.

The court took into consideration other circumstances such as Pawar’s escape to Nashik, where he got treated by lying to the doctor that the injuries were a result of his fall from a train, and concluded there was sufficient evidence on record to prove the guilt.