A 27-year-old man was sentenced to death by a sessions court on Wednesday for robbing and murdering his senior citizen employers with whom he had worked for 12 years.

On February 15 last year, the accused, Sandeep Maingade, had stabbed a couple - Dilip Randheri, 71,and his wife, Varsha, 61 - to death and then burnt their bodies.

Maingade also robbed the couple of gold ornaments worth Rs2 lakh from their Santa Cruz residence. The couple lived in Golden Crest building at Santa Cruz (W). Their son, Neeraj, resides in Bandra.

Observing that Maingades offence falls under the rarest of rare category, additional sessions judge, AM Tamboli, said, "The offence committed was brutal, heinous and cruel and the manner in which the accused had taken the lives of two helpless elderly persons with a motive to rob them, the accused deserves maximum punishment."

Additional public prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves examined 14 witnesses in the case, including the neighbour who had seen Maingade in the house on the night of the murder

Since there were no eyewitnesses, the case was judged on circumstantial evidence. Maingade was arrested in Ratnagiri three days after the murders, and the police recovered stolen jewellery from him, which were identified by Neeraj in court.

The court further observed that the judgment should help check the increase in such incidents in the city.

"The murder of senior citizens living alone in the city by their own domestic servants is on a rise in the city. The death penalty awarded in this case should set an example," judge Tamboli said

Neeraj, who was present in court on Wednesday, refused to comment on the judgment stating that their family has suffered a lot.

 

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