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PANAJI: Holding him guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, a sessions court in North Goa handed Sandeep Verlekar, 55, a sentence of 6 years and 6 months in prison for assaulting his aged, bed-ridden mother under the influence of alcohol in Merces in 2019. Sandeep was arrested for dragging his 69-year-old mother, Laxmibai, from the bed, hitting her with his fists and leaving her out in the verandah, where she succumbed to her injuries. The court took a lenient view. It considered that Verlekar was an alcoholic and stated that he had no intention to kill his mother. The court directed that the imprisonment of 6 years, 1 month and 11 days already undergone by him be set off, and that he be released upon completion of the balance period. Public prosecutor Roy D’Souza told the court that he should be given the maximum sentence as he had committed a serious offence by assaulting his own bedridden mother. Rohan Desai, appearing under free legal aid, stated that he had been in custody for over 6 years since he was arrested in Nov 2019, and that he had two children. The court observed that the manner in which he had assaulted his mother showed that he had been under the influence of liquor and had no intention of killing her. “I also came to the conclusion that the act of assault committed by the accused was not committed with an intention to kill his own mother. Although it is a death caused, he never intended to kill his own mother. Therefore, according to me, a lenient view has to be taken against the accused,” Merces sessions judge Irshad Agha said. The sessions court observed that there was no complaint of misbehaviour on his part during the period in custody. “The period of sentence already undergone acted as rehabilitation for the accused as he could not access liquor. In this context, I do not find any reason that the accused will again turn alcoholic to commit any such act,” the court stated.
