Man gets life for assaulting 80-year-old mom, causing her death in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Observing that the accused had knowledge that a single blow to his 88-year-old mother who was on oxygen support, was dangerous and in all probability would cause her death, a sessions court convicted and sentenced a 50-year-old man to life imprisonment for hitting his ailing mother in 2016 at their Goregaon flat over a property dispute. The woman died a day later.
"The intention and knowledge on the part of accused can be ascertained from the very fact that though accused knew the fact that the deceased was 88 years old and was suffering from various diseases, he assaulted the deceased on various parts of body," Judge S N Salve said.
The accused Santosh Surve's sister, Angelin Siquera who was also visiting their mother, Susheela Surve, deposed as an eyewitness. She said that even as she was trying to calm down the accused, he screamed out, "this house too belongs to me, both of you leave the house..." Another sister, Snehalata Surve, who lived with their mother, however, turned hostile and did not support the prosecution's case.
Referring to the evidence, the judge said, "After having considered the direct evidence of Angelin Siquera which corroborated by the medical evidence adduced by Dr. Pramod Waghmare stating that injuries are sufficient to cause the death of person 88 years of age..., I am of the opinion that the facts clearly establish that the accused has caused death of the deceased with the intention and knowledge to achieve his objective that is the property," the judge said.
Refusing to award the death sentence, however, the court said that it was not a rarest of rare case and that it was not gruesome murder driven by perversity of mind.
Angelin told the court that the accused, her younger brother, lived in the same area as their mother. She said that on June 16, 2016, while she was visiting her mother and sister, the accused came there. "He went inside house and after 5 minutes he came out of the room and started assaulting the deceased by shoes by demanding property papers," Angelin said. She deposed that despite her efforts to shield her mother, the accused assaulted the octogenarian with his shoes and hands on her underarms, chest, head, back and damaged her rib.
Angelin told the court that when she tried to pacify the accused, he assaulted her too. She further deposed that after the attack, she went to her other brother's place and informed him about the incident. She also called the police and two constables from Dindoshi Police Station came to the spot. Angelin said that her brother Prakash Surve filed a complaint in writing with police against the accused. She further deposed that on the next day, she received a phone call from Snehalata about her mother's death. Angelin further deposed that she had shown the police the spots on the body of the deceased where she was beaten by the accused. Prakash too deposed in court.
Their sister, Snehalata, told the court that the accused was addicted to alcohol and would often come home and argue with his mother over a family property in their hometown. While she accepted that the accused had come home on the day of the incident and roughed up her mother, she claimed that he was not responsible for her death. Snehalata admitted that her relationship with the other brother, Prakash, was strained.
A doctor who conducted a post mortem and listed 10 internal and external injuries including a fatal head injury suffered by the victim Susheela, opined that they could be caused due to assault by hands and by blows with the fist. He also opined that the injuries were sufficient to cause the death of a person aged 88 years.