9 months on, Chennai techie’s killers get life term

TNN

Chennai, Nov 29, 2014: Bringing the sensational case of killing of a software engineer to a quick end, a court in Chengalpet on Friday found three people guilty of murder and sentenced them to undergo imprisonment for life. However, the court acquitted them of rape charge.

 

Uma Maheswari, a TCS employee, was waylaid and murdered a few metres from her Siruseri office on February 13, sending shockwaves among working women in the city. Police said she was also sexually assaulted.

 

Maheswari left her office at SIPCOT IT Park around 10pm on February 13, but did not reach home. Her body was recovered nine days later, on February 22. Police arrested three migrant workers from West Bengal - Ram Mandal, Uttam Mandal and Ujjal Mandal - and charged them with rape and murder.

 

On Friday, special judge for mahila court Anandhi spared the noose for the three accused because the charge of rape could not be conclusively proved against them. Otherwise it would have been a death penalty, thanks to the amended IPC which envisages the maximum punishment for rapist-murderers.

 

The special judge examined 51 prosecution witnesses, 119 exhibits and 61 material objects during the trial that lasted nine months. Investigation officers told TOI they expected death penalty for the three culprits, as the public prosecutor Arumugam had submitted all available evidence to prove that the techie was raped before being murdered.

 

"Uma Maheswari went missing on February 13, and her body was recovered nine days later. As the body was fully decomposed, it was difficult for the investigation officers to medically prove that she had been raped before being murdered. This helped the trio escape death penalty," an investigation officer said.

 

A Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) officer said, "It was one of the challenging cases reported this year, and we managed to solve it by approaching it scientifically. For the first time in India, the Tamil Nadu police used a drone for investigating a murder case. With the help of the drone and MIT research scholars, police traced her body from amidst bushes near the IT park. A CB-CID team combed the entire crime scene and collected material evidence like the identity card of the deceased, a knife, footwear and a bag with Sodexo coupons."

 

CCTV footages from cameras fitted around the scene of crime were scrutinized too. One such footage showed three persons, one covering his face with a kerchief, entering an ATM kiosk on the day Maheswari went missing. He withdrew money using a debit card stolen from Maheswari.

 

After analyzing the mobile call data records, they arrested Ram and Uttam who confessed to the crime. They also revealed the name of another accused, Ujjal Mandal, who had by then left for Kolkata by Howrah Mail.

 

A police team went to Kolkata by air with the employer of the accused. The team nabbed Ujjal from a running train on February 26. The confession of the accused led to recovery of a pair of ear studs, a copper ring and a mobile phone belonging to the killed techie.

 

Immediately after the verdict, the trio was lodged at Central Prison at Puzhal.