BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday sentenced four inter-state migrants, including a domestic helper and her husband to life imprisonment for murdering the house owner, his wife, and son for gain a decade ago, Allowing the appeal filed by the state government, a division bench of Justice HP Sandesh and Justice Venkatesh Naik T sentenced the accused, with a total fine of Rs 1.20 lakh and set aside the order passed by the trial court acquitting the four accused.
The sentenced are Deepak Haldwar, Suchitra Haldar, both are from West Bengal, Mohammed Sarbal from Bidar and Bidan Shikari, residing in city. The trial court had acquitted them on February, 29, 2016.
The HC also directed the state government to introduce a structured and mandatory police verification mechanism so that it will be helpful for the owners or employers before engaging workers who reside within private premises, similar to tenant verification systems, with simplified online registration portals accessible to the public.
The HC said that widespread public awareness campaigns through print, electronic, and social media platforms should be undertaken to educate citizens about safe hiring practices.
However, while strengthening preventive mechanisms, it is equally important to ensure that migrant workers are not stigmatised as a class, since criminal liability is individual in nature and the constitutional guarantees under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India protect the dignity and equality of all persons, the court said.
Suchitra Haldar, who was working as a maid in the house of deceased, namely, prof Purushotham Lal Sachidev, Rita Sachidev and their son Munna Sachidev, hatched conspiracy along with four other accused and murdered them in wee hours on February 15, 2009, by strangulation with wire, mobile charger and dupatta and robbed ornaments and cash, in R T Nagar police station limits. They were arrested after twenty months of the incident. Pradeep Naskar, the accused no.5 is absconding.