A Thane sessions court has sentenced a man to life term for brutally killing a 21-year-old woman for refusing his friendship offer. In his December 12 order, principal district and sessions judge S B Agrawal also imposed a fine of Rs60,000 on Akash Kumar Pawar, 25. A total of 21 witnesses, including two eyewitnesses, were examined during the trial.
According to the prosecution, Pawar had approached the victim, who was studying at the Bedekar college and also working, with the friendship offer in 2018. Enraged over her refusal, he later followed her and waylaid her on the Eastern Expressway Highway when she was heading to her office.
Pawar stabbed her 13 times with such intensity that the knife’s blade got stuck in the victim’s body, said the prosecution, pointing out that he had bought another knife as well. He continued assaulting the profusely-bleeding woman with the second weapon, the prosecution added.
As the crowd started to gather at the crime scene, Pawar fled, while dumping the second knife about 500 meters away from the spot. Thereafter, he met his friends and told them about the murder, after which he turned himself in at the Narpoli police station, Bhiwandi.
Meanwhile, the victim was taken to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead.
