(This article was originally published in July 2016. It has been republished from The Quint’s archive in light of Pallavi Purkayastha’s killer, Sajjad Mughal’s arrest in Jammu and Kashmir, after he jumped parole.)
On the morning of August 9, 2012 Pallavi Purkayastha, a 25-year-old corporate lawyer was murdered in her rented apartment in Mumbai. Throat slit, there was a trail of blood from her bedroom to the neighbour’s doorbell that she’d rung frantically the night before.
Shortly after, her building security guard Sajjad Pathan was arrested from a Mumbai Central Railway station as he tried to flee. He confessed his intention was not to murder, but to rape Pallavi. When she fought back aggressively, he pulled a knife he claimed he was carrying to scare her with, on her.
On 7 July, 2014 Sajjad Pathan was sentenced to life imprisonment. Dejected, Pallavi’s father Atanu Purkayashtha immediately began exploring legal options to seek stricter punishment. He’s convinced that his daughter was the victim of a pre-planned conspiracy to rape and murder by Sajjad Pathan.
“His plan was to make it look like Avik did it and escape from Mumbai”, Atanu Purkayastha told The Quint, during a Facebook Live. Avik Sengupta was Pallavi’s live-in partner and they were planning to get married the same year. He died of an inflammatory brain disorder a year later. His family believes it was brought on by severe depression after he found Pallavi’s body after a late night at work.
On 23 June, 2016 Atanu Purkyastha discovered Sajjad Pathan had jumped parole.
I’m in constant touch with the Investigating Officer and our lawyers in Mumbai because we have an appeal seeking the death penalty for Sajjad Pathan in the Bombay High Court. It is through them I found out that he was granted parole on June 26th for thirty days.Atanu Purkayastha
Sajjad Pathan had requested parole, citing his mother’s ill health. A month later, he sought an extension. When it was denied, he went underground. The parole, Atanu Purkayastha, a senior IAS officer argues, was granted in complete violation of all norms.
- 1. The Nashik Jail authorities allowed a potential rapist and a convicted murderer out on parole, without fully assessing the threat he posed when out of jail.
- 2. By allowing to travel to Baramulla unescorted, jail authorities failed to assess the risk of him jumping parole.
- 3. The Investigating Officer or the Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police that was responsible for apprehending convicting him were not consulted or informed of his parole.
- 4. The pending appeal in the Bombay High Court seeking death penalty was also not considered.
After the media outcry, Nashik Jail Superintendent JS Naik has been suspended, but no action has been taken against the Divisional Commissioner Eknath Dawle.
Pallavi’s father is hoping that Sajjad Pathan’s photograph is widely circulated and that his daughter’s murderer is caught.
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