Mahanand acquitted in another case

Mahanand acquitted in another case
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, OCT 25
Alleged serial killer Mahanand Naik was on Monday acquitted in the rape and murder of Shakuntala Kavthankar in 2005.
North Goa District & Sessions Judge Nutan Sardessai acquitted him as the prosecution failed to produce concrete evidence proving his guilt under Sections 364 (kidnapping), 392 (robbery), 302 (murder) and 201 (destroying evidence) of Indian Penal Code.
Known as the “duppatta killer”, Mahanand, 40, has been charged with raping, killing and looting 18 gullible unmarried girls for one and half decade, between 1994 and 2009. This is his fourth acquittal in five cases so far.
Sessions judge recently sentenced him to seven years imprisonment for raping and blackmailing his wife’s 23-year-old Shiroda friend in 2009.
In today’s acquittal case, he was prosecuted for kidnapping Shakuntala, 35, on December 30, 2005 and strangulating her with her own dupatta, at Kunkolien Mangueshi hillock, near Kundaim Industrial Estate.
He was present in the Court hall when the Judge passed the order.
Ponda police had recorded recovering a woman’s body during the same period from the spot, features of whom matched the victim. A case of unnatural death was then registered.
The victim was a house-to-house garments saleswoman, who hailed from Mayem village. She lived with her aged mother, five sisters and a brother.
Mahanand was chargesheeted of luring her with a promise of marriage and asked her to wear gold ornaments to impress her future in-laws. But he instead took her to an isolated spot and strangulated her.
According to the police, he confessed of killing and making money after selling Shakuntala’s ornaments.
Police said that Mahanand’s modus operandi was to flatter and befriend girls with marriage proposals and ask them to wear enough gold ornaments to meet his parents. He would either invite them to a place or pick them up and take them to secluded areas where he would strangulate the victims with their own duppatta.
After tasting three consecutive acquittals in the Bhagu Upaskar, Surat Gaonkar and Nirmala Amonkar rape, murder and robbery cases, Sessions Judge convicted him in the Shiroda case that spilled beans about his criminal activities.