PSO who killed judge’s wife, son gets death
Our Correspondent
Gurugram, February 7
A day after PSO Mahipal was convicted of the murder of a judge’s wife and son, the court of Additional Sessions Judge Sudhir Parmar today sentenced him to death under Section 302 of the IPC.
What the court said
This cold-blooded and remorseless act of grotesque killing by a security guard in his full senses sans any provocation whatsoever and satisfies both the ‘crime test’ as well as the ‘criminal test’.
His dastardly act has aroused intense and extreme indignation petrifying the entire community. This was not an act done on an impulse.
AdvertisementWhen a 32-year-old man being in police service since 2007 and entrusted with security duty decides to misuse his position and utilises his service revolver to commit a crime, his actions are proof that he is beyond reform and a threat to society at large. Thus, the accused deserves nothing except the extreme penalty of death.
When the court pronounced the sentence, Mahipal stood with his head bent, not lifting it once. Citing the murder of then Gurugram ADJ Krishan Kant’s wife Ritu and 18-year-old son Dhruv as the rarest of rare case, the court announced that Mahipal deserved nothing but extreme punishment.
“The court has awarded him capital punishment. In addition, he has been awarded five-year rigorous imprisonment and Rs 10,000 fine for disappearance of evidence of offence. He has also been sentenced to three-year imprisonment and Rs 5,000 fine under the Arms Act,” said public prosecutor Anurag Hooda.
Arguments on quantum of punishment started around 11 am with the prosecution holding a 55-page chargesheet as the basis to seek capital punishment.
Prem Shankar Sharma, counsel for Mahipal, pleaded that the murder should be treated as culpable homicide as the convict was the sole breadwinner in the family, father of two daughters and only support of an aged mother.
After arguments, the court reserved the order. The court started at 4:30 pm and awarded death penalty to Mahipal in a seven-page order of the 140-page order.
The defence argued that the incident was the result of accidental firing. The public prosecutor cited CCTV footage, eyewitness account and forensic evidence to prove that Mahipal shot two innocent persons without provocation. The counsel for Mahipal said they would move the High Court soon.
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