Cab driver and his accomplice were sentenced to death by Supreme Court for rape and murder of BPO employee

On Friday a cab driver and his male accomplice were sentenced to death by Supreme Court in a case where in 2007, they had raped and brutally murdered a BPO employee from Pune. On November 1st 2007, the woman who was 22 years of age, was going in her company’s vehicle and Purushottam Borate, the driver of the vehicle and Pradeep Kokate his friend, raped the girl and then killed her brutally.

Bench headed by Chief Justice of India, H L Dattu said that they had committed a heinous crime and had no regret or atonement while committing such an offence and later acted normally after committing the serious crime. Court further held that both the driver and his accomplice were awarded death sentence by trial court and it was confirmed by Bombay High Court, as it held that their offence was so brutal and cannot feel pity for them as their act was so inhuman and if they were let out they can commit the crime in future on other women. Court further held that these accused were threat to the society and they cannot be reformed to live in the society as a normal human being and thus court refused the plea of the defence counsel, where he requested the court to alter the death penalty of the accused into a life imprisonment. While declaring this judgment, court considered another similar case of Dhananjoy Chaterjee from Bhowanipur in West Bengal, where in 1990, he had raped and murdered a teenage girl and so he was executed for the said crime.

Court said that this act of gruesomely raping and further brutally murdering the person who trusted the accused in a very cruel way, cannot be overlooked and thus the offence attracts death penalty and no less punishment can be given to them.  Court also considered the safety of women who were working in Pune companies in night shifts and such crimes had very serious effect on their security and so it had to be curbed. Court also said that punishments should bring some fear in the criminals and thus help in curbing the crimes and it should be a constraint.

by Sushma Javare.