Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has sentenced four migrant workers to life imprisonment in the triple murder case that had shocked Bengaluru 17 years ago.
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 four convicts have been identified as Deepak Haldar, his wife Suchitra Haldar, Mohammed Sarbal and Bidhan Shikari, all migrant workers from West Bengal.
The case relates to the brutal murder of retired Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Professor Purushottam Lal Sachdev, his wife Rita and their specially abled son Deepak Sachdev alias Munna at their RT Nagar residence in 2009.
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 Feb. 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 murders took place in 2009. In 2016, the Trial Court had acquitted the accused. The State Government later challenged that order in the High Court, which has now set aside the acquittal and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
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.
