Maharashtra: HC confirms man’s life term for murder

AURANGABAD: The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court recently confirmed life sentence granted to a man who allegedly murdered an acquaintance while attempting to rape her in 2009 in a forest in Hingoli district.
However, the bench ordered to reduce his sentence of seven years granted under the rape charges by the additional sessions judge, Hingoli.The court had appointed a lawyer to represent the accused.
The Akhada-Balapur police on March 30, 2009, arrested Sakharam Sitaram Bhise (then 25) from Sukliveer village in Kalamnuri taluka of Hingoli for murdering the woman, who also belonged to the same village.
When the woman went to get firewood in the adjoining forest, the accused spotted her and attempted to rape her. When she resisted, he killed her and tried to bury the body near a stream. When the woman did not return home, her daughter and one of her friends went looking for her. They found Bhise throwing stones in a gap near the stream.
After being spotted, he fled. The two found the victim half-buried. They alerted Ranjana’s husband who lodged a complaint. Police used a sniffer dog which led to the accused.
Following the trial additional sessions judge, Hingoli on 21-02-2012 sentenced the accused u/s 376 and 302 of the IPC, and directed him to 7-year rigorous imprisonment as well as to imprisonment for life, respectively. Both the sentences were to run concurrently and time spent by the accused in jail due to his arrest on 30-03-2009, was directed to be set off.
The accused had approached the HC through legal aid services in 2017. Court appointed lawyer Yogita M Kshirsagar to represent him. The matter came up for hearing before Justices Ravindra V Ghuge and B U Debadwar. The bench while recently allowing his criminal appeal partly observed “The impugned judgement to the extent of the conclusion that the accused committed rape on victim punishable u/s 376 of the IPC, is set aside.’’ However, the bench confirmed the life imprisonment stating: “The sentence awarded by trial Court to the accused for murder punishable u/s 302 of the IPC, which stands confirmed.’’
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)