Woman, hubby and friend get life for killing mother over property row

MUMBAI: A sessions court on Wednesday sentenced a woman, her husband and a friend to life imprisonment for killing her 55-year-old mother over a property dispute in 2013. The couple—Naina (28) and Atul Pawar (30)—and their friend Mangesh Bhosale were found guilty by judge AMA Khan.
Public prosecutor Sumesh Panjwani said among the 13 witnesses was the victim Kamal’s niece Kranti Desai, who saw the incident.Kranti told the court that there were frequent fights between Naina and her mother. She said she lived in the same locality in Mankhurd as her aunt and used to go to sleep in her house at night. Kranti said on September 29, 2013, when she went to her aunt’s house, she saw Naina, Atul and Mangesh having dinner. Soon, Atul and Mangesh left. Kranti said she fell asleep next to her aunt, but suddenly woke up and saw the victim had fallen off the bed. She alleged that she then saw Mangesh pressing her aunt’s neck while Naina held her hand over her mouth. Kranti said when the accused saw her, they warned her not to reveal the incident to anyone. Then they went back to sleep. The next morning, they forced Kranti to go to her mother and say the victim was not waking up. When Kranti’s mother arrived, she realised that the victim was dead. Naina told her that she had been complaining of chest pain before going to sleep. As funeral arrangements were underway, Kranti told her mother about the murder. The police were alerted and the trio fled. They were nabbed a week later.