Nagpur: Additional Sessions Judge R R Bhosale in Nagpur on Friday awarded rigorous life imprisonment to Sarita Shekhar Kanojiya and her paramour Pankaj Chandrakant Kadu for killing her husband in MIDC area of the city.
The prosecution story is that Sarita Kanojiya (40), a resident of Plot No 10, Sharda Nagar, Jaitala, had an extramarital affair with Pankaj Kadu. Sarita and her husband Shekhar Bablu Kanojiya (47) used to run a laundry at Sharda Nagar. A resident of Sonegaon, Juni Vasti, Khamla Road, Pankaj Kadu (27) often used to visit Sarita’s house following which Shekhar left home and stayed at his brother’s house for some time. When Shekhar returned home after a few months and frequently quarrelled with Sarita over her extramarital affair, she and Pankaj decided to eliminate him.
Between February 06, 2021 and February 08, 2021, the duo killed Shekhar by banging his head repeatedly on the wall. Sarita then herself called the police and said her husband was lying unconscious. When the police arrived, she and Pankaj fled. MIDC Police sent Shekhar’s body for post-mortem and had initially registered an accidental death case. Later, investigations revealed that Sarita and her lover Pankaj were behind the murder and registered a case under Sections 302 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code against them.
The FIR was registered following a complaint lodged by the deceased’s brother Sushil. On February 12, 2021, police arrested Sarita and Pankaj. The then Senior Inspector Yuvraj Hande, who was the Investigating Officer, chargesheeted Sarita and Pankaj. The court examined as many as 19 witnesses. As the charges were established against Sarita and Pankaj, the court awarded rigorous life imprisonment to them with a fine of Rs 8,500 each.
Additional Public Prosecutor Adv Leeladhar Shendre represented the State. Adv Praful Mohgaonkar was the defence counsel.
