Mumbai: A sessions court has sentenced a 35-year-old man and his friend to life imprisonment for killing the former’s neighbour as he suspected that the victim had an affair with his wife. Additional sessions judge N P Tribhuwan convicted Chetan Tikone, 35, a cable TV operator and his friend Akshay Gaikwad, 26, an AC repairing mechanic, for the murder of Vikas Pasi in June 2021.
As per the prosecution, Pasi and his brother Anand lived with their sister’s family at Bhaiyawadi Chawl, Kalachowkie. Tikone, who resided in the neighbourhood, suspected Pasi of having illicit relations with his wife Delzine.
The prosecution said that Pasi, who eked out a livelihood by delivering fishes, used to wake up at 2.30am to fill drinking water from a common tap. On June 15, 2021, he woke up as usual to fill water. Sometime later, Anand woke up to Pasi’s cries. Upon rushing out, he said that he saw Tikone attacking his brother with a knife, while Gaikwad assaulted him with an object resembling an iron scale. Pasi was declared dead at the hospital.
Based on Anand’s complaint, the duo was arrested on the same day. The trial against them began in February 2024 and public prosecutor Ranjana Budhwant examined 15 witnesses, including two eyewitnesses. The court accepted the prosecution evidence and held both of them guilty of murder.
