Pune, Dec 14 (PTI) A court in Pune on Tuesday gave the death penalty to a 47-year-old man for killing four members of a family in Kalyaninagar area in 1997.

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Bhagwat Kale, his wife Geeta and his cousin Sahebrao Kale were accused of entering the home of Ramesh Patil on May 15 that year, killing him, his wife, teen daughter and minor son and looting cash and valuables worth Rs 50 lakh, all of which were recovered later.

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Bhagwat and Sahebrao worked at the construction site where the Patils moved in, while Geeta joined as a maid at their home, police had said.

Sentencing Bhagwat to death, Additional Sessions Judge BP Kshirsagar said. "The conscience of society is shocked by such a brutal and barbaric act. There is a need to give a deterrent message. Society also expects the same. The accused committing such a barbaric act is a menace to the harmony of the society. Therefore, the accused deserves to be awarded capital punishment."

Additional public prosecutor Rajesh Kavediya said after the arrest of the three in 1998, Bhagwat and Sahebrao managed to escape from Yerwada Jail.

"Sahebrao was held some months later but Bhagwat remained untraceable. In 2004, Sahebrao and Geeta were convicted in the case, with the latter getting life imprisonment as she was pregnant in jail at the time. Sahebrao was given the death penalty, which was commuted to life imprisonment by the High Court," Kavediya said.

However, Sahebrao and Geeta later moved an application in court stating that they were minors at the time of the crime, and this was upheld and the two exonerated, the APP said.

"Bhagwat was held in 2013 and his trial started afresh, which faced hurdles as some witnesses as well as the investigating officer had died. Despite such hurdles, we managed to ensure he was convicted and given the death penalty today," Kavediya said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)