17-year-old Bengaluru triple murder case: High court overturns acquittal, awards life term
In a significant development in a 17-year-old triple murder case that shocked Bengaluru, the Karnataka High Court has convicted four migrant workers and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
Bengaluru: In a significant development in a 17-year-old triple murder case that shocked Bengaluru, the Karnataka High Court has convicted four migrant workers and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
The judgment was delivered by a division bench led by Justice H.P. Sandesh after allowing an appeal filed by the prosecution against the acquittal order passed by the 65th City Civil and Sessions Court in Bengaluru.
The case relates to the brutal murder of retired Indian Institute of Science (IISc) professor Purushottam Lal Sachdeva, his wife Rita, and their son Munna at their RT Nagar residence in 2009.
The four convicts have been identified as Deepak Haldar, his wife Suchitra Haldar, Mohammed Sarbal and Bidhan Shikari, all migrant workers from West Bengal.
According to the prosecution, Deepak Haldar and Suchitra Haldar were employed as domestic workers at the victims’ residence. Taking advantage of their familiarity with the household, the accused allegedly strangled all three family members on February 16, 2009, and escaped with gold jewellery and cash.
The High Court observed that the crime was committed purely for financial gain and termed the act as extremely grave, noting that the accused had killed innocent people who had trusted them.
The bench directed the four convicts, who are currently outside custody, to surrender before the trial court within two weeks. They will then be sent to prison to serve the remaining period of their life sentence.
While delivering the verdict, the court also raised concerns over crimes committed by individuals employed as domestic workers without proper background verification.
It suggested that authorities introduce stricter monitoring systems for migrant workers. The court recommended mandatory police verification and the creation of an online registration portal where details of migrant workers can be recorded and accessed easily.
The bench also directed the registry to send a copy of the order to the state government’s chief secretary, urging the government to take preventive measures and strengthen existing labour and criminal laws.
