Nagpur: The Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court on Tuesday commuted the death sentence awarded to a man accused of brutally killing three persons in full public view into 30 years of imprisonment but without possibility of any remission.
Petitioner Raju Birha had been convicted for mercilessly hacking to death Sunil Kotangale (31) and his friends Ashish alias Golu Gaikwad (26) and Kailash Bahadure (32) with a sattur (big knife used to cut coconuts) near the gate of Vrindavan City at Gumgaon on Wardha Road near Nagpur in the morning hours of November 17, 2015.
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Monday 30 Sept. 2024
Earlier, the Sessions Court had handed down death sentence to the convict in December 2022 which was challenged by Birha in the High Court. The division bench of Justice Vinay Joshi and Justice Valmiki Menezes after conducting a video conferencing hearing pronounced the judgment. The High Court, in its judgment, found sufficient evidence to establish Raju Birha’s involvement in the murders of three persons. Rather than capital punishment, the court decreed a 30-year rigorous imprisonment without any provision for reprieve, affirming that the case did not fall under the category of ‘rarest of the rare.’
Birha was accused of the brutal murders of Sunil Hemraj Kotangle, Kailas Narayan Bahadur and Golu Lahubhan Gaikwad on November 17, 2015 in the Vrundavan City area of Gumgaon in Hingna tehsil. Birha’s motive behind the murder was traced back to an old dispute related to the illegal liquor business, which he had with Sunil.
The accused, who was a history-sheeter and don of the area, had also tried to kill Kotangale’s wife Bhumeshwari, who was a witness to the spine chilling murders that took place in full public view, and shocked the locality. On her complaint, the Hingna police had booked him under Sections 302, 307, 114, 34 of IPC, read with Sections 4/25 of the Arms Act with his accomplice Kamlesh alias Rahuveer Zariya.
The defence argued that Birha’s behaviour during his time in prison was normal as confirmed by the prison administration’s report submitted to the High Court. Birha had used a ‘sattur’ to inflict 45 wounds on the victims’ neck, chest, and abdomen. The prosecution asserted that the accused had forfeited the right to live in society and showed no potential for rehabilitation.
Adv Sanjay Doifode represented the State while Adv Anil Mardikar, Adv Sumit Joshi appeared for defence.
