Lawyer killed in ‘act of perversion’
11 Aug 2012 7:24 AM IST
The watchman of an apartment block in central Mumbai has confessed to murdering the 25-year-old lawyer Pallavi Purkayastha by slitting her throat, because she had rebuked him and rejected his advances, a police official said on Friday. She was murdered in the early hours of Thursday.
Speaking to media persons, the joint commissioner of police [crime] Himanshu Roy said that Purkayastha, who was found dead in her flat, was murdered by the watchman of her building and that it was a 'premeditated act of perversion'. Roy said that the watchman, identified as Sajjad Ahmed Mugal, confessed to having planned the murder during interrogation.
She was found with her throat slit and had multiple injuries on her face, hands and eyes, the police said. A post-mortem of her body was carried out. Her body has been handed over to her parents, who reached Mumbai from Delhi.
Mugal confessed that he was waiting for the right moment to put his plan in action, and he got the opportunity on Wednesday night, when Purkayastha's boyfriend Avik Sengupta did not come home till late in the night. Purkayastha stayed with Sengupta, who is also a lawyer. He found her murdered on Thursday morning.
Puryakastha, the daughter of a Delhi-based Indian Administrative Service (IAS) official Atanu Puryakastha, had had a tiff with Mugal over an issue in the housing society and rebuked him.
'Mugal had tampered with the electric supply in Purkayastha's apartment twice and had accompanied the electrician to the apartment on both occasions. He managed to steal her house keys from the shelf during the second visit,' said Roy, while describing the sequence of events. The watchman had then let himself into the apartment using the key at around 3 am and gone into the bedroom where she was sleeping.
'Purkayastha struggled to fight him, but he had a knife, with which he grievously harmed her in a manner from which she could not recover,' Roy said.
Roy added that the motive for the murder was nothing but 'perversion of the highest order'.
‘FEAR BETTER THAN SURPRISE IN RAPE CITY’
The murder of Mumbai-based lawyer by the security guard of her residential building on Thursday has yet again brought to fore the lack of safety for women who live alone in metropolitan cities of the country. Delhi, of course, leads the pack when it comes to safety issues of women.
Pallavi, 25, daughter of IAS officer Atanu Purkayastha, joint secretary in the agriculture ministry, was found lying in a pool of blood in her 16th floor apartment at the upscale ‘Himalayan Heights’ in Wadala by her live-in partner Avik Sengupta on Thursday morning. And to think Mumbai is considered relatively safe.
In Delhi, where instances of eve-teasing, robbery, molestation and rape happen so often that this city has become notorious for that, Pallavi’s murder triggered the among hundreds of independent women living alone in Delhi. But experts say to fear – and thereby to be cautious – is better than to be taken by surprise. ‘Since it is specially unsafe in Delhi after 8 pm, it is advisable that women carry a bottle of pepper spray for their safety, if they are planning to venture out late in the night,’ says Tanya Sarkar, assistant professor, Amity School of Communication, Amity University.
‘Make sure you are accompanied while travelling at night, ‘ says Priyadashini Mitra, a resident of Noida. These women also suggest that the authorities concerned do their bit to ensure the safety of women. ‘Things like making sure the street lights are functioning properly will go a long way,’ says Sarkar. Mitra adds that the police should increase their patrol cars fleet size as well as frequency. ‘A well coordinated police service should be in action,’ she added.
Speaking to media persons, the joint commissioner of police [crime] Himanshu Roy said that Purkayastha, who was found dead in her flat, was murdered by the watchman of her building and that it was a 'premeditated act of perversion'. Roy said that the watchman, identified as Sajjad Ahmed Mugal, confessed to having planned the murder during interrogation.
She was found with her throat slit and had multiple injuries on her face, hands and eyes, the police said. A post-mortem of her body was carried out. Her body has been handed over to her parents, who reached Mumbai from Delhi.
Mugal confessed that he was waiting for the right moment to put his plan in action, and he got the opportunity on Wednesday night, when Purkayastha's boyfriend Avik Sengupta did not come home till late in the night. Purkayastha stayed with Sengupta, who is also a lawyer. He found her murdered on Thursday morning.
Puryakastha, the daughter of a Delhi-based Indian Administrative Service (IAS) official Atanu Puryakastha, had had a tiff with Mugal over an issue in the housing society and rebuked him.
'Mugal had tampered with the electric supply in Purkayastha's apartment twice and had accompanied the electrician to the apartment on both occasions. He managed to steal her house keys from the shelf during the second visit,' said Roy, while describing the sequence of events. The watchman had then let himself into the apartment using the key at around 3 am and gone into the bedroom where she was sleeping.
'Purkayastha struggled to fight him, but he had a knife, with which he grievously harmed her in a manner from which she could not recover,' Roy said.
Roy added that the motive for the murder was nothing but 'perversion of the highest order'.
‘FEAR BETTER THAN SURPRISE IN RAPE CITY’
The murder of Mumbai-based lawyer by the security guard of her residential building on Thursday has yet again brought to fore the lack of safety for women who live alone in metropolitan cities of the country. Delhi, of course, leads the pack when it comes to safety issues of women.
Pallavi, 25, daughter of IAS officer Atanu Purkayastha, joint secretary in the agriculture ministry, was found lying in a pool of blood in her 16th floor apartment at the upscale ‘Himalayan Heights’ in Wadala by her live-in partner Avik Sengupta on Thursday morning. And to think Mumbai is considered relatively safe.
In Delhi, where instances of eve-teasing, robbery, molestation and rape happen so often that this city has become notorious for that, Pallavi’s murder triggered the among hundreds of independent women living alone in Delhi. But experts say to fear – and thereby to be cautious – is better than to be taken by surprise. ‘Since it is specially unsafe in Delhi after 8 pm, it is advisable that women carry a bottle of pepper spray for their safety, if they are planning to venture out late in the night,’ says Tanya Sarkar, assistant professor, Amity School of Communication, Amity University.
‘Make sure you are accompanied while travelling at night, ‘ says Priyadashini Mitra, a resident of Noida. These women also suggest that the authorities concerned do their bit to ensure the safety of women. ‘Things like making sure the street lights are functioning properly will go a long way,’ says Sarkar. Mitra adds that the police should increase their patrol cars fleet size as well as frequency. ‘A well coordinated police service should be in action,’ she added.
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