Thane: 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.
