Absence of motive no bar if evidence proves guilt: Cal HC in 2010 murder

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has upheld the life imprisonment of a man convicted of murdering a woman with whom he had been living, observing that the absence of a clear motive does not weaken a case when a complete chain of circumstances establishes the accused’s guilt.

A division bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha and Justice Rai Chattopadhyay said the evidence showed the woman was under the exclusive control of the accused before her death and that he failed to explain the circumstances in which she died.

The case dates back to November 2010 in Jaigaon in north Bengal. According to the prosecution, the accused had taken the woman away from her parental home on the promise of marriage and the two had been living together for several months before the incident.

On November 3 that year, the victim’s son received a phone call from the accused saying his mother was seriously ill. When he reached the rented house where she was staying, he found the room locked from outside. Locals and police later broke open the door and found the woman lying motionless on a bed, with blood coming out of her nose and mouth.

The court noted that the accused gave contradictory versions about the woman’s condition. While he told the victim’s son she was ill, he informed a co-worker that she had died in an accident. The bench said such conflicting statements reflected the accused’s nervousness after the crime.

Witnesses testified that the accused and the victim had taken the rented room shortly before the incident and were last seen entering it together. The accused was later seen outside the house early the next morning before disappearing and stopping work.

Investigators recovered blood-stained bedding along with a towel and a dupatta from the room, which the court said could have been used to strangulate the victim. Medical evidence indicated that the woman died due to strangulation.