Mumbai father-son duo get bail in 10-year-old maid’s murder case

A father-son duo was granted conditional bail on Tuesday by the Bombay high court two years after they were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of their 10-year-old maid at their plush residence at Lokhandwala in Andheri.

Though the duo has maintained the minor committed suicide, forensic evidence had revealed that the girl was sodomised and suffocated to death.

The division bench of justices AM Khanwilkar and PD Kode directed the release of Rajesh Gajaria, 30, and his father Vinod, 65, on bail of Rs50,000 each with one or two sureties after observing in their order that the prosecution had relied heavily on circumstantial evidence, and that the accused had created evidence to suggest the girl had committed suicide.

“In our opinion, even if the prosecution’s case of circumstantial evidence is accepted, that would not be sufficient to prove the applicants as authors of the crime,’’ the bench said.

Gajarias’ counsel Shirish Gupte said that there were discrepancies in the postmortem report and the inquest panchnama. “The accused (Rajesh) went to the police station himself to report the death. Even the doctor did not rule out asphyxia,” said Gupte.

However, additional public prosecutor Ajay Gadkari opposed their bail plea arguing that the girl’s body was found in the flat of the accused with ligature marks. “When the police reached the spot, the body was not hanging by the hook, it was lying on the floor. There is strong circumstantial evidence against them,” he said.

Sonu was employed by the Gajarias at their third-floor flat at Galactica Apartments since January 2006. On June 21 that year, she was found hanging.

The family’s claim that Sonu committed suicide was busted when forensic evidence revealed that she was sodomised and suffocated to death.

The case had brought into focus the abuse faced by young children who are employed as domestic helps.