Vasco woman convicted of committing twin murders

The sensational Vasco double murder case has ended in a conviction with the South Goa Sessions Court on Monday holding accused Pratima Naik guilty of committing the cold blooded murder of her mother-in-law and sister-in-law.

the goan I network | MARCH 28, 2017, 04:14 AM IST

MARGAO

South Goa Sessions Judge Desmond D’Costa pronounced the order in the open court on Monday morning convicting the accused for the double murder and theft of gold ornaments. The Court will pronounce the sentence in the case after hearing the accused on Wednesday. The accused was held guilty under section 302, 328 and 302 of the IPC.
The court held Pratima guilty after the prosecution proved the case against the accused. The move to declare accused no 2 Abhijit Korgaokar as a state approver is believed to have paid dividends for the prosecution as it helped to prove the case which was based only on circumstantial evidence.
In this case, the Vasco police had charged Pratima Naik for the murder of her mother-in-law Usha Naik and sister-in-law Neha Naik by administering stupefying drugs at their place of residence in flat no 10 of Shree Kamat Palace Cooperative Housing Society at Mangoor Hill, Vasco on January 30, 2015. The accused, police said, then committed the murder of her mother-in-law by strangulating her using nylon rope as a ligature material in the presence of accused no 2, Abhijit Korgaonkar, brother-in-law of the accused.
The accused then smothered her sister-in-law Neha with a pillow before committing the theft of gold ornaments belonging to both the deceased and their family members. The accused was charged for handing over the gold ornaments to accused no 2, Abhjit Korgaonkar for safe custody.
In support of its case, the prosecution led by Public prosecutor Sarojini Sardinha examined 18 witnesses.
Accused No 2, Abhijit Korgaonkar was declared as an approver and subsequently examined at length by the prosecution as witness number one.
The prosecution argued that the evidence of the approver is reliable, cogent and credible which is further corroborated by material particulars by leading independent witnesses.
The previous conduct of the accused was argued at length by Public prosecutor, Sardinha. It was pointed out to the court by listing various witnesses that it was the intention of the accused to do away with her mother-in-law, which fact she had mentioned to her friends much prior to her marriage.
Sufficient evident was brought before the court by the prosecution indicating that the present accused was also the author of the theft case which had taken place in the house within five days of her marriage wherein four bangles were found missing.
The prosecution further argued that the gold items belonging to both the deceased were recovered at the instance of the accused.
It was further argued that the evidence of the approver has received sufficient corroboration even on minute aspects and hence the prosecution had argued that it had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt which was confirmed by virtue of various reports obtained from the central forensic laboratory at Belagavi and Hyderabad.
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