Pune: Almost eight years after brutal gangrape and murder of software engineer Nayana Pujari, a Pune court convicted three persons and will pronounce the quantum of the sentence today.
The software engineer from an IT firm in Kharadi was kidnapped on the evening of October 7, 2009, from Kharadi bypass, when she was waiting for transport to go home. Two days later, the 28-year-old techie’s body was recovered from Zarewadi forest area in Khed tehsil of Pune district.
The investigation revealed that the woman was gang-raped in a car. She was also robbed of cash before the convicts strangulated and bludgeoned her to death in the forest area.
Special judge L.L. Yenkar of Pune sessions court found Yogesh Ashok Raut, (24), Mahesh Balasaheb Thakur, (24) and Vishwas Hindurao Kadam, (26), guilty under sections 302 for murder, 376 for rape, 120 B for criminal conspiracy, 397 for robbery of Indian Penal Code (IPC). The court released Rajesh Choudhari, an accused who turned approver in the gangrape and murder case.
Special public prosecutor Harshad Nimbalkar examined 37 witnesses, and defence lawyer B.A. Alur questioned 13 witnesses.
According to special public prosecutor Mr Nimbalkar, jewellery and watch of Nayana were recovered from two of the accused
and traces of blood found on clothes of the accused matched the victim’s blood samples.
Mr Nimbalkar also said that information shared by approver Choudhari with court matched with the police’s version. The prosecutor asserted that judge must pronounce death penalty or life imprisonment for the accused.
When the trial was underway, main accused Raut escaped from the Sassoon Hospital in Pune on September 17, 2011, while being escorted to the hospital for medical treatment. He was later re-arrested from Shirdi after 20 months.
