Mumbai: Sakalsingh Pawar, 23, threw his son on a platform and repeatedly hit his head against the concrete floor during an argument with his estranged wife at Sanpada railway station, in Navi Mumbai, on September 20, 2021. Pawar and his family begged at the railway station and the incident took place at around 8.30am, during rush hour. The wife immediately called the police and Pawar was arrested. Pawar’s elder brother took the child to the hospital, where he died.
The prosecution relied on the testimony of the witness – a woman who sold masks at the station – and CCTV footage of Pawar assaulting the child and later carrying him in his arms. The defence contended that it was not a case of murder but of culpable homicide not amounting to murder as the accused had no intentions of killing his own son.
There was no grave and sudden provocation
The court rejected the arguments and observed that there was no grave and sudden provocation to cause the death of the boy. “In the present case the deceased was a small boy aged four years. Accused had knowledge that if such a small boy aged four years forcibly hit on ground [he] would sustain head injury and would die. The injury caused to the deceased is sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause his death,” it said.
“The manner in which the accused threw the child on the ground makes it clear that he had intention to cause his death. Therefore, considering overall evidence discussed above, the prosecution proved beyond doubt that the accused committed culpable homicide of deceased child amounting to murder.”
