Thane: Man gets life in prison for murdering senior citizen

The accused strangulated her with a wire before fleeing with her jewellery. Representation pic

A court in Thane district sentenced a man to life imprisonment for robbing a 62-year-old woman of her jewellery and killing her in 2011. District and Additional Sessions Judge Rajeev P Pande, in the order passed on April 19, also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the accused Santosh Shridhar Nambiyar, 43. A copy of the order was made available on Saturday.

Additional Public Prosecutor Y M Patil told the court that on March 7, 2011, Nambiyar entered the house of Geeta Vallabh Pokhle in the Dombivli when she was alone. He strangled her using an electric wire and fled with her gold jewellery. When Pokhle's daughter returned, she found her dead and alerted the police.

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The prosecutor said the court relied on the deposition of the prosecution witnesses, especially the building's security guard who identified Nambiyar. "The evidence of the witnesses examined by the prosecution is found reliable and trustworthy. Nothing has been brought in their cross-examination by which any doubt is created about the veracity of their evidence," the court said.

The prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Nambiyar was last seen by the watchman of the society when he visited Pokhle's flat. The prosecution further proved that Nambiyar stole earrings, a necklace and four gold bangles from the flat. Some of the valuables were recovered from a bank in Karwar (Karnataka) where the accused had pledged them. It was also proven that Nambiyar strangulated Pokhle with a piece of electric wire.

The prosecutor said the offence was of serious nature and hence, maximum punishment be awarded. However, Nambiyar's advocate said he has been in jail for 12 years and has no criminal antecedents. The court was also informed that he has two small children and a wife, and there is no other earning member in his family. Hence, a lenient view may be taken.

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