Madhya Pradesh accused confesses to killing partner

BANKURA: "I would like to admit that I murdered Akansha Sharma," said triple murder accused Udayan Das in a Bankura court on Wednesday.
A minute ago, his defence lawyer had claimed that Bankura girl Akansha had committed suicide. But Udayan stopped him mid-sentence and said, "No sir, I would like to state the truth here." And, then he confessed to the crime.
When judge Arun Kumar Nandi asked him whether he did not wish to be granted bail, Udayan nodded. "You are right sir," he said, voice clear and audible to everyone in court. At the end of the 15-minute hearing, the judge designated the 3rd magistrate's court in Bankura to record his confessional statement under CrPC 164. He was sent to judicial custody till February 22. The Bankura jail where he will be lodged is just a stone's thrown from Akansha's residence. In the morning, he told the cops at Bankura Sadar police station that he "knew the gallows was waiting for him". He even enquired about the possible time frame in which he could be convicted.
Udayan's lawyers told TOI they would soon apply for parole to allow him to complete his parent's shradh ceremony. His defence counsel, Arup Banerjee, claimed he was under pressure from police to own up to the crimes.
Dramatic as it was, the police say are still sceptical of Udayan's confession. "It might be his last-ditch effort to escape the gallows. He has a sound mind and knows that his problems would get compounded once he is sent to Chattisgarh for further investigation," said a Bankura police officer.
"Udayan has been insisting that he was forced to murder Akansha. We will need to investigate more to ascertain if he is speaking the truth or is merely trying to win some sympathy that can help him escape the gallows. But his confession in the presence of a first-class magistrate and the recovery of Akansha's body at his instance will help us build a rock-solid case against him," said Bankura SP Sukhendu Hira.
The CJM's court on Wednesday also heard a petition by Raipur police for Udayan's custody along with his laptop to investigate three separate cases registered against him in Raipur relating to the murder of his parents, cheating and forgery to acquire their fake passports and a fake death certificate of his mother.