In a shocking case, a 26-year-old man from Sheopur district in Madhya Pradesh was sentenced to death for brutally killing his adoptive mother, in order to claim her fixed deposit of ₹32 lakh. The judge referred to the killing as unforgivable, because motherhood is sacred in Indian society.
The verdict, delivered on Wednesday by Additional Sessions Judge L D Solanki, found Deepak Pachauri, a resident of Railway Colony in Sheopur, guilty under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for the murder of Usha Devi. The court also observed the cold and calculated nature of the crime, which deeply shook the conscience of the community.
According to Special Public Prosecutor Rajendra Jadhav, Deepak was adopted nearly 20 years ago by Usha Devi and her husband Bhuvendra Pachauri from a Gwalior orphanage. The family lived peacefully until tragedy struck in 2021 with the passing of Bhuvendra. Following his father’s death, Deepak withdrew ₹16.85 lakh from his father’s fixed deposits, investing ₹14 lakh into the stock market. Unfortunately, he suffered heavy losses.
With his investments drained, Deepak turned his attention to his mother’s ₹32 lakh fixed deposit, for which he was the sole nominee. When Usha Devi refused to give him access to the funds, he devised a sinister plan.
On May 6, 2024, while Usha Devi was climbing the stairs, Deepak attempted to push her down. After this did not lead to her death, he then attacked her with an iron rod and subsequently strangled her. He then wrapped the body in a red cloth and disposed of it in a wall below the staircase toilet, sealing it with cement, sand, and bricks, so that it could not be detected.
Two days later, on May 8, he submitted a missing person report at the Sheopur Kotwali police station. Investigators examined the report and inconsistencies quickly appeared in his statements. Eventually, Deepak confessed to the crime during questioning, according to Superintendent of Police Virendra Jain.
The police exhumed the body in the presence of an executive magistrate and also recovered the iron rod and other materials used in the crime. A forensic examination was conducted to corroborate the confession.
The police registered a case under Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the IPC and filed the charge sheet with the court.
Terming it as ‘unforgivable’, the judge noted that murdering a mother, who is considered a divine figure in Indian culture, was a crime that could never be forgiven. The death sentence would serve to convey a message to society to never commit the terrible betrayals of trust and humanity displayed by the accused.
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