Thane Court Sentences Man To Life For Brutal 2015 Axe Murder Of Komal Sakpal In Mira Road | Representative Photo
Mumbai: The Thane Sessions court has convicted and sentenced 30-year-old Amitkumar alias Avi Amarnath Vishwakarma to life imprisonment for the 2015 murder of 20 year old Komal Sakpal. The accused who was in a relationship with Komal, had assaulted her with an axe and on December 21,2015 in Mira Road.
According to the prosecution, Komal Sakpal and Vishwakarma were in a relationship that began when they met at a hospital in Goregaon, where Komal’s grandmother was admitted. Over time, Vishwakarma developed a drinking and drug habit, leading to the couple’s breakup nearly 18 months before the murder.
On the morning of December 21, 2015, Komal had informed her mother, Jaya alias Rekha Sakpal, that Vishwakarma had threatened her near S.K. Stone Chowk while she was on her way to pay school fees for her sister. Later that day, around 2 PM, he ambushed Komal outside her building with a black sack bag. After a final plea for reconciliation was rejected, he pulled out an axe and struck Komal on the left side of her neck before fleeing the scene.
Komal, bleeding profusely, named her attacker to her mother and police personnel before being rushed to Galaxy Hospital. Though initially unable to speak, she later gave a dying declaration identifying Vishwakarma as the assailant. Despite medical efforts, she succumbed to her injuries on January 4, 2016, after being transferred to KEM Hospital.
The court relied heavily on Komal’s dying declaration, made in the presence of a doctor and nurse, as well as witness testimonies, forensic reports, and material evidence. The court held that the key evidence like the murder weapon, the purchase receipt of the axe, murder weapon, blood stained clothes of both, the accused and the victim and the victim’s families testimonies have helped the prosecution to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.
Vishwakarma was arrested on December 22, 2015, and remained in custody throughout the trial. The judgment noted that while the crime was horrific, it did not meet the “rarest of rare” threshold for a death sentence.
Komal was the eldest of five siblings and reportedly the main breadwinner for the family. Her mother, devastated by the loss, had pursued the case for nearly a decade. The judge noted that Komal had rejected Vishwakarma’s repeated advances and marriage proposals, leading him to murder her in a fit of rage and wounded pride.
“The motive has been proved. Accused assaulted her by means of an axe with force on her neck. This shows that he was having intention to kill her,” the court said.
