According to the prosecution, in 2013, Pramila had an intercaste love marriage with Deepak Kamble, which was not approved by her father Eknath Kumbharkar. (File)The Bombay High Court on Tuesday upheld the death penalty awarded to a man who had killed his nine-month pregnant daughter as he was unhappy with her intercaste marriage in Nashik in 2013.
“The accused with pre-meditation, in a planned manner, committed a diabolic and gruesome murder of his own daughter Pramila, who was happily residing with her husband and in-laws. Pramila must be having dreams about her would be child. The accused killed not only his daughter but also his grand child who was in the womb of Pramila,” a division bench of Justice B P Dharmadhikari and Justice Swapna Joshi said while terming the murder to be an honour killing.
Confirming the Nashik trial court’s order, the HC said that the accused ought to have taken care of his pregnant daughter who accompanied him but he rather committed murder of his own daughter with a revengeful attitude and keeping in mind a motive.
“Thus, transgression of harmful act of murder of nine months pregnant daughter can be only prevented by awarding a severe punishment. The accused is nothing but menace to the society. He has broken the traditional value of father and daughter relationship,” the bench said.
According to the prosecution, in 2013, Pramila had an intercaste love marriage with Deepak Kamble, which was not approved by her father Eknath Kumbharkar. On June 28, 2013 at about 5.30 am, Kumbharkar requested his neighbour, a rickshaw driver, to take him to Kailash Nagar, Nandurnaka as his brother had met with an accident at that spot.
After reaching the spot, Kumbharkar told the driver that there was no accident but his mother was serious and her last wish was to see Pramila. Kumbharkar picked his nine-month pregnant daughter from her in-laws’ house. After reaching the gate of the hospital, Kumbharkar asked the driver to call the watchman. When the driver came back, he saw Pramila lying on the lap of her father in the auto-rickshaw. Her neck had been strangulated by rope and there was foam coming out of her mouth.
Advocate Rohan Sonawane for Kumbharkar argued that it was not the rarest of rare case and it can be at the most said that in a heat of passion the incident might have taken place.
Assistant Public prosecutor P P Shinde argued that the accused had a strong motive to kill his daughter as she married into an intercaste family which was against his wish.
The accused was not happy with the marriage of his daughter, Shinde told court.
