Pratibha Case: Life Imprisonment Till Death for Driver
After a five year-long trial, a court here today sentenced to life imprisonment till death cab driver Shiva Kumar for the brutal murder of 28-year-old BPO employee Pratibha Srikanthamurthy that had sent shockwaves across IT industry in the country leading to revamping of security of women staff.
The 11th Fast Track Court Judge B V Guddali spared Kumar (27) the noose but sentenced him to imprisonment for life till death for the murder.
"I am sentencing you for life for the crime that you have committed. Life imprisonment till he is alive" the Judge B V Guddali said pronouncing the much-awaited verdict that brought forth mixed reactions in the victim's family.
He also sentenced Kumar, who had pleaded for leniency after he was convicted on October 6, to 10 years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 fine for kidnap under section 366 of the IPC. In case of failure to pay the fine, he should undergo one year additional RI.
The Judge awarded another 10 years RI for rape under section 376 of the IPC and slapped a fine of Rs 20,000. In default, he would have to undergo two years additional RI.
Pratibha's mother Gowramma, who has been fighting battle for justice for the murder of her only daughter, said she got justice.
"Anyhow I got justice, My strife and struggle for these five years has not gone in vain. My happiness is gone with my daughter whom I brought up with all love and care since I lost my husband when she was just 15 days old. But I have some consolation I have got justice", she said breaking into sobs.
To a question on her future course of action, Gowramma said "I will have to consult my lawyers".
Pratibha, who joined H P Globalsoft in 2005 after marriage to Pawan Shetty, went missing on December 13, 2005 after leaving home for her night shift. Her body with her throat slit was found on the outskirts of the city a day later.
H Shrinivas, Gowramma's brother said he not satisfied with the verdict adding the Court should have given Kumar death penalty.
Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily said he would not pass a "value judgement" on the sentence but felt the Fast Track Court should not have taken this long.
Investigations revealed that Kumar, who had been employed by the BPO, had committed the murder.
In all, 80 witnesses, including Pratibha's colleagues, had been examined in the case since 2005.
High drama was witnessed after the judge pronounced the sentence with Kumar, who appeared unfazed till then, suddenly lost his cool and shouted "I am not guilty. I have not done it. Do a narco analysis on me."
As Kumar was being frisked away by the police, his wife Suma, who had disowned him after the crime and refused to "even see his face", burst into tears saying "If my husband is not released, I will drink poison and end my life".
Shrinivas said he was not satisfied with the sentence. "That horrible criminal should have been given death sentence. He should have been hanged so that it would have been a deterrent for other such criminals who would not dare to commit such a heinous crime fearing the consequences."
According to police sources, Shivamurthy alias Shiva Kumar, a native of Nanjapura village in Ramanagaram District, "appeared to be a professional killer going by the manner in which he murdered Pratibha".
"He has been a hard nut to crack and we have not been able to extract any information on whether he was involved in similar crimes earlier. His reputation in the village where he resided was not been good", the police sources told PTI.
"Though during investigation, Kumar disclosed that he first raped Pratibha and then when she threatened to make the incident public, killed her by slitting the throat" the sources said adding it was evident he had already made up his mind to kill her immediately after the rape to destroy evidence.
The whole crime was planned with "utmost precision" with Kumar calling up Pratibha from an STD booth to tell her that he would be coming to pick her up instead of her regular cab driver.
He later made two calls to her from his mobile phone, one asking her for the location of her house and the second to tell her that he had reached and asking her to come out. When Pratibha questioned him about taking a different route, he brushed her off saying he had to pick up some other employees.
Shivamurthy changed his name to Shiva Kumar in his driving licence when he came to Bangalore from Nanjapura in search of a job.
He worked for Khodays Distilleries before he joined the travel firm SRS Travels attached to HP Globalsoft and had put in two years of service when the incident occurred.
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