INDIA: HC CONFIRMS DEATH SENTENCE FOR MAN WHO BEHEADED RELATIVE

the Bombay High Court in India confirmed the death sentence awarded to an accused in a case of murder in which he severed the head of the victim with a sickle. The court held that it was an act of “brutal decapitation” and reflected “extreme depravity”. The division Bench of Justice Dr S Radhakrishnan and Justice Roshan Dalvi confirmed the death penalty for convict Dnyaneshwar Kulal, who severed the head of his relative Dhondiram Kulal on a superstitious belief that the latter had caused the death of the convict’s father, Haribhau, using black magic. Dhondiram was a resident of Phaltan in Satara who worshiped Satoba, and was 70 years old. The convict’s relative who is a shepherd, had told the trial court that Dnyaneshwar had come to the field on a horse demanding money from him.