Malkajgiri court awards death penalty to siblings in pension murder case
HYDERABAD: A court in Malkajgiri on Monday awarded the death penalty to two convicts and life imprisonment to a third in the 2019 murder of a retired railway employee who was allegedly killed by his family to claim pension benefits.
The Principal District Judge (PDJ), Malkajgiri, pronounced the sentence in Sessions Case No. 928/2021 arising out of Crime No. 570/2019 of Malkajgiri police station. The accused were tried under Sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the prosecution, Maruthi Suthar, a railway employee, was murdered by his son, wife and daughter in a conspiracy aimed at securing pension benefits after his death.
The court awarded the death penalty to Kishan Suthar alias Rahul, 47, and Prapulla alias Pappi, 36. Ganga Bai, 65, wife of the deceased, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
All three convicts are residents of Dr Krishna Nagar, RTC Colony, Moula Ali, in Medchal-Malkajgiri district.
Investigators alleged that the accused administered poison derived from the datura plant through food over two days, leading to Maruthi Suthar’s death.
After the murder, the accused allegedly attempted to dispose of the body. When they were unable to do so for two days, they allegedly tried to dismember the body and pack the remains into newly purchased buckets for disposal.
The plan unravelled when a strong foul smell from the house alerted neighbours, who informed authorities. The information led to the registration of the case and subsequent investigation by Malkajgiri police.
The investigation was handled at different stages by inspectors A. Manmohan, B. Jagadeeswar Rao and B. Ravi Kumar. Additional Public Prosecutors Nirmala, Yadagiri and Ramakrishna Rao represented the prosecution during the trial.
Police officials said the conviction followed sustained investigation, witness examination and prosecution efforts that established the conspiracy and the role of the accused in the crime.
