Bombay High Court gives death penalty to doctor

The Bombay High Court has sentenced a doctor to death, for murdering two persons after he falsely promised to help them emigrate to the United States. According to the prosecution, Dr Ajay Pandit alias Jagdish Patel used to poison people after taking money from them, promising to help them emigrate to America.

The medical practitioner was accused of murdering Jayashree Patel and Nilesh Patel in separate incidents and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the sessions court in 1995, additional public prosecutor Ashuthosh Shringarpure said.

A division bench of Justice D G Deshmukh and Justice V M Kanade last week held that conviction of the accused by the sessions court in both the cases was upheld while sentence is enhanced in both the cases from life imprisonment to death sentence.

He shall be hanged till death by neck, the court said. On the prayer of the accused, the court stayed the operation of the order for a period of 12 weeks.