The District and Additional Sessions Court, Malegaon. (Pic: The Voice of Malegaon)
The court of Additional Sessions Judge Shyamkant Bhalchandra Bahalkar yesterday awarded life imprisonment to a man Pratap Rupsing Datare (47) and slapped a fine of Rs 2 lakh on him for murdering an elderly woman Raikorbai, his distant relative, over a dispute that arose over an agricultural land the slain victim had given to him for cultivation under the ‘Batai’ system.
The convict will have to undergo a rigorous imprisonment of three more months in case of default of the fine amount, the court observed. However, the court exonerated other accused Ajit Chhotu Datare (27), Rupsing Shankar Datare (70), Sundarbai Rupsing Datare (67), and Rekha Pratap Datare of all the charges that included murder. In an 80-page judgement, the court has chronicled the circumstances prevailing before and after the fateful murder on January 27, 2018.
In 2008, the slain victim Raikorbai had given her agricultural land in Gat No 164 in Kautikpade village in Satana on ‘Batai’ basis to Pratap, the convict, for cultivation. Before she fell victim, the elderly lady lived with her son Madhukar Naval Thange (35), the informant, her daughter-in-law Manisha, grandson Samadhan, grand daughter Sonali, and another son Ramesh in Kautikpade as an undivided family.
Under the notarised agreement clinched in 2008, Pratap had been giving Raikorbai Rs 3,000 every year for cultivating the land that was handed to him on ‘Batai’ basis. Besides, he had also given Rs 60,000 to Raikorbai as a hand-loan. However, the said land agreement was reportedly terminated on January 26, 2018, ten years after it was initiated. And, Rs 2,11,000 as repayment of the Rs 60,000 hand-loan was returned to Pratap in presence of prominent persons in the village namely Gokul Thange, Chhotu Jagtap, Dhansingh Pundlik on January 26, 2018. On the same day, Raikorbai retook the possession of her land in presence of the above prominent figures.
However, when on January 27 Raikorbai along with her family members went to her field by a bullock-cart, Pratap along with his family members arrived on the spot. He told Raikorbai that they still have the right to cultivate the land and the same will be in their possession for four more years. A heated altercation ensued between the two families that culminated in serious injuries to Raikorbai’s another son Ramesh. In the melee, Raikorbai got fatal injuries as she was trying to rescue her son Ramesh. It must be noted that all the accused in their defence had claimed that they had been falsely implicated in the case.
At the time of his arrest, the investigating officer had seized Rs 2,00,000, which was an agricultural income, from the person of Pratap along with other muddemal. The court has ordered the amount of Rs 2,00,000 be returned to Pratap. Additional Public Prosecutor Ashok Pagare who represented the state requested the court to slap a fine in proportion to Pratap’s land holdings.
Case history
A case was registered at the Satana police station with CR No 24/2018 for offences punishable under sections 143, 147, 148, 302, 307, 323, 504 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code and under section 3 and 4 of the Money Lending Act. Initially, a trial was conducted before the learned J.M.F.C., Satana. The case was then committed to the sessions court. The court of Additional Sessions Judge S B Bahalkar then framed and altered the charges under sections 147, 148, 302, 307, 324, 323, 504 and 506 read with section 149 of the IPC, against the accused persons.
