TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: The South Goa Principal Sessions Judge Nutan Sardessai on Friday held accused Janardhan Kokre from Bicholim guilty of murder under section 302 of the IPC.
The judge will hear the accused on point of sentence on April 17.
Accused Kokre was arrested by the Ponda police for the murder of Dilip Sadashiv Naik, 42, of Poira. The murder came to light when police recovered a charred body from a burnt jeep at Borkotto-Mollem on April 10, 2011, with the torso missing. The skull of the body was found at Priol.
The police initially suspected that the charred body found in the jeep to be that of the owner Kokre who was reported missing along with Naik. Police had also checked records of jeep with transport department and to verify the ownership of the vehicle and found that it was in Kokre’s name.
According to the prosecution, the accused separated the arms from the hand and cut both the legs below the knee with a sharp weapon and threw them along the road side while proceeding to Ponda. He later set the vehicle on fire with the headless body with the intention of destroying evidence. The weapon was later recovered at the instance of the accused, the prosecution contended further.
Incidentally, the police had also collected and sent blood samples of Kokre’s brother Raju and sister Jani along with the remains of the charred body for DNA tests. Public prosecutor Sarojini Sardinha appeared for the prosecution.
