A Sangli man was spared the death sentence by the Bombay High Court on Monday.. He will, instead, serve two consecutive life sentences for the rape and murder of his niece.
Vitthal Atugade, who was 20 years old when the offence was committed, was convicted by the Islampur Sessions Court in Sangli district for the rape and murder of the minor girl in April 2015, and also under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The detailed judgement was not available on Monday, but Geeta Mulekar, the public prosecutor, and Abhaykumar Apte, the defence lawyer, who were present in the judge’s chamber when the judgement was pronounced, said the death sentence had been commuted.
They said he was handed out two life sentences instead, which would mean a term of at least 28 years.
The prosecution had argued that on November 6, 2013, Atugade had taken along his niece with him when he headed out for a haircut in Atugadewadi taluka in Sangli. Several hours passed, but neither of them returned, following which the girl’s mother lodged a missing complaint at the Kokrud police station. The day after the disappearance, another family member received a call from a friend of Atugade saying he had been spotted in another village.
When Atugade was brought back by the relative to Atugadewadi taluka, he told the police that he had raped the girl, and afraid that she would disclose this, decided to murder her. The prosecution claimed that thereafter he took the police to the spot where he had disposed of the body. He was arrested on the same day.
The defence lawyer argued that the prosecution had failed to examine important witnesses, including Atugade’s friend who revealed his whereabouts, and that the extra-judicial confession made by Atugade to his uncle admitting to the crime was insubstantial proof of his guilt.
The full judgement by the Division Bench of Justice VK Tahilramani and Justice AS Gadkari is likely to be available on Tuesday.
