Are you a monster? SC asks death row convict for his cruelty

Are you a monster? SC asks death row convict for his cruelty

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: 29.10.2020 

The diabolical nature of a crime committed by a death row convict who slit the stomach of a woman and stuffed her clothes inside before stitching it up with metal wire shocked the Supreme Court, prompting the bench hearing his appeal to ask- “Are you a monster?”

At the outset of the hearing, Chief Justice S A Bobde, who was heading the bench, said he had not come across such a case in his entire life. “This is abnormal. Why did you cut open the abdomen and stuff clothes in it. We have not come across such murder case when an accused did what he has done,” the bench asked senior advocate Siddharth Luthra who was defending the convict.

The court finally agreed with Luthra’s contention that the case needed to be examined as no motive was proved in the case for the accused to kill the woman and there was no charge of rape. The bench then issued notice and stayed the execution of the death sentence.

A lower court in Kota sentenced Mohan Singh alias Mahaveer Singh, 50, to death under Sections 302, 201 and 392 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for murdering the woman whose naked body was found in a sack in Vigyan Nagar locality of the city on May 24, 2019. However, rape charges could not be proved against the accused. The victim was a labourer.

His conviction and death sentence was confirmed by the high court.

According to the prosecution, after failing to rape the woman, Mohan used a knife to slit her stomach and stuffed her clothes inside. Kota police had arrested Mohan in Kunhadi area of the city on June 10, 2019. They had also seized the knife used in the crime.