In a bid to eliminate even the remotest possibility of the man convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing Pratibha Srikanta-murthy being freed, a lower court in Bengaluru on Friday sentenced cab driver Shiva Kumar to life imprisonment till death for murder.
Pratibha Srikantamurthy was a BPO employee. The crimes occurred on the outskirts of Bengaluru in December 2005. Kumar was sentenced to life “till death”, along with 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000 on the charge of kidnapping under IPC Section 366 and, in case of failure to do so, one additional year of RI.
The 11th Fast Track Court judge, B.V. Guddali, also sentenced the driver to another 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for the charge of rape under Section 376 of the IPC and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 and, in case of failure to pay the fine, two additional years of RI. The verdict, which took years for the FTC to deliver, was the subject of much criticism due to frequent changes of judges. The convict, emotionless throughout the trial, broke down when the sentence was delivered, pleading for a narco-analysis test to prove his innocence.
On the other side stood Gowramma, the mother of Pratibha, who had fought unwaveringly for justice. “I hope my daughter’s soul will get some peace with him being sent to prison till death. We will definitely appeal if the convict moves for a lesser sentence before a higher court,” said Gowramma.