The Principal District and Sessions Court in North Goa handed down a significant verdict, sentencing a murder convict to life imprisonment and his brother to incarceration for culpable homicide in a case stemming from a 2019 tragedy tied to a property dispute within the family.
The accused, Dnyaneshwar alias Gangadhar Kerkar (aged 50), and Vinod (aged 62), both residents of Mapusa, were found guilty of assaulting their 32-year-old brother, Vilas, employing a large PVC pipe and a wooden stick, resulting in fatal injuries.
When their sister Geeta attempted to intervene, the accused forcefully pushed her to the ground, causing her harm. Additionally, the accused intimidated neighbours who sought to aid the injured.
The case, meticulously investigated and presented by Police Inspector Tushar Lotliker, unveiled a history of frequent altercations among the siblings. It was disclosed that four months preceding the fatal incident, Vilas had filed a police complaint against his brothers for engaging in recurrent fights, often under the influence of alcohol.
In a verdict delivered on Friday, the court convicted both accused parties. The first offender received a life sentence for the charge of murder, while the second was sentenced under IPC 304 (ii), having served a portion of the sentence already.