Pravin Mahajan held guilty of murdering brother

Dec 17:  Pravin Mahajan held guilty by one of the session court in Mumbai for the murder of his brother and senior BJP leader Pramod Mahajan.

Session Judge S P Davare convicted Pravin Mahajan for murder and house trespass with intention to commit serious offence. The Court said that it would pronounce the sentence on Tuesday.

The judge relied on the testimony of Pramod Mahajan’s wife Rekha, servant Mahesh and Pramod’s own testimony to his brother-in-law and BJP leader Gopinath Munde while on the way to the hospital after being shot at on April 22, last year.

The court tried Pravin for firing three bullets at his elder brother Pramod at latter’s residence in Worli on April 22, 2006. Mahajan died after battling for 12 days in a hospital.

Pravin Mahajan was charged with section 302 (murder) and 449 (house trespass).

The police had filed 650-page charge sheets before the Metropolitan Court and the prosecution had listed 58 witnesses before commencing the trial.

However 32 witnesses were examined by the prosecution comprising Pramod’s widow Rekha, daughter Poonam, sister Pradnya and brother-in-law Gopinath Munde while defence examined Pravin as a witness on oath before the court and his wife Sarangi and a computer expert.

“Reacting to the judgment with plane face, Pravin was looking unmoved while replying said he was not surprised at the verdict. “For the past ten days I have been hearing the dictation of the judgment. I am not surprised at all,” he said.

Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said the prosecution would study the judgment before pleading for the type of sentence in the court.

It took 12 days’ of Judge Davare for dictating the judgment commencing from December six and culminating today, in the pronouncement of final verdict on December 17.