Eight years after the crime, a special court in Pune sentenced the three prime accused in the sensational October 2009 gangrape and murder of software engineer Nayana Phatak-Pujari to death
Nayana's brother Prashant Pathak (in red) and her sisters Manisha Gambawale (in blue) and Madhuri Jadhav (in yellow) after the verdict.
A Pune fast track court on Tuesday pronounced the death sentence for three prime accused in the sensational October 2009 gangrape and murder of software engineer Nayana Phatak-Pujari.
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Special Judge L. L. Yenkar, who on Monday convicted Yogesh Ashok Raut, Mahesh Balasaheb Thakur and Vishwas Hindurao Kadam for kidnapping robbing, gangraping and then killing the victim, sentenced them to death after a hectic day full of arguments between the prosecution and defence lawyers.
Raut (32) and Thakur (31), both belong to Pune, and Kadam (34) is from Satara district.
Special judge L L Yenkar on Tuesday awarded capital punishment to the trio for kidnapped, repeatedly gang-raping, robbing her of Rs 61,000 and later murdering software engineer Nayana Phatak-Pujari.
Yogesh Raut
In her judgement, Yenkar observed, "circumstances of abduction of victim Nayana was to fulfill accused lust. The offence is committed on the helpless Nayana and due to such incident women safety and also work place safety is at stake. It's a rare of rare case"
Eight years after the crime, a special court had on Monday convicted three accused for the abduction, gang rape, and murder of a software engineer. A fourth accused-turned-approver was let off. Arguments on the quantum of punishment will be heard on Tuesday.
Mahesh Thakur
Nayana Pujari, the techie, was kidnapped on the evening of October 7, 2009 from Kharadi, when she was waiting for transport to go home. Two days later, the 28-year-old's body was recovered from Zarewadi forest area in Khed tehsil.
The judge had earlier held the trio guilty under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code - 366 (kidnapping), 376 (2)(G) (gang rape), 397 (robbery), 302 (murder), 404 (dishonest misappropriation of property and criminal conspiracy), and 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy).
Vishwas Kadam
Yogesh, Mahesh and Vishwas were the cab drivers with Zensar IT company, while approver Rajesh Chaudhari worked in Nayana's company, Synechron, as a security guard.
Former police inspector Deepak Sawant, then in-charge of Yerawada Police station, who attended every hearing though he has retired, said, “Based on mobile data and other cyber information, we arrested Yogesh Raut. From him we came to know that he and his gang would strip their victims first so they couldn't even ask for help.
They used the same modus operandi. That day unfortunately it was Nayana.” He also said that the accused had in the past kidnapped and gangraped three women.
On Tuesday, the entire courtroom was silent and Nayana's husband Abhijeet and sister Manisha Ganbawale were left in tears as the guilty verdict was read out. Abhijeet said, "I am most helpless husband as daily during hearing I could see my wife accused bring brought to court and the fore me they are seated. I know how I have control myself and my emotions."
Special Public Prosecutor Harshad Nimbalkar forcefully argued for the death penalty against the convicts, terming it as "the rarest of rare cases" considering the brutality of the crime against the victim.
He said that the prosecution conclusively managed to establish the complete chain of circumstances that led to the serious crime and said they deserved "the maximum punishment" under the laws.
"Considering the brutal manner in which the victim was gangraped and then killed, this falls under the category of rarest of rare case," he said after the conviction.
As co-accused, Rajesh Pandurang Chaudhari, who was arrested as an accomplice, later turned an approver and was granted a pardon, defence lawyers B.A. Alur, Ranjit Dhomse-Patil and Ankush Jadhav, who sought a milder sentence, also argued that he was also guilty and should face the same punishment.
Raut pleaded that he was innocent and was being framed in the case, the vehicle was not in his possession at the time of the incident and the court should consider that he had an aged mother, wife and daughter before pronouncing its verdict.
Both Raut and Kadam demanded that Chaudhari was an equal accomplice in the crime and he also deserved the same punishment, though Thakur didn't say anything.
Yogesh Raut told the court, "My mother is old and though my brother is there to take care of it but who will take care of my wife and my daughter who is small. For them I am the bread winner of the family and it is my responsibility to take care of them. I am in so much pressure that I can't speak as the police since morning has been pressuring me. The approver Chaudhari is the main culprit since he along with his two friends had committed the crime and my vehicle was used. He is the kingpin and he is being released and we are behind bars. If we are punished then even Rajesh Chaudhari should be punished. My house is some 40km from the company and as per the incident the vehicle had been driven around 108 kilometers, then how come the reading was only 65 kilometers."
Special public prosecutor Harshand Nimbalkar, assisted by Sachin Thombare and Hrishkesh Kamble, demanded death sentence to all the convicts. He argued, "The accused are habitual offenders as after the arrest in this case three other cases have also come to light. They raped the victim thrice. They striped her, raped her in the moving car for six hours in the city."
Defence lawyer BA Aloor, assisted by Jaymika Jagirdar, argued, "Chaudhari is equally accused in this case as he himself has confess that he was laughing. He too must be made co- accused. This case do not follow under rate of rare of case. If Yogesh who was on run he never raped anyone as he was to be habitual. Approver Chaudhari brought condemn and he was one who have brutally fulfilling his lust. Victim was pleading to free her but it was Chaudhari who have done."
The victim's husband Abhijit Pujari, and sisters Manisha G. and Madhuri J. who had demanded the death penalty for the accused after their conviction on Monday, expressed their "relief and satisfaction" over the verdict before the media.
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