Gardener gets life sentence for killing supervisor in Thane district

Laxman Dita Kakan (62) attacked his supervisor Devilal Hariram Kalaguman (25) with a hammer after a dispute over pay in May 2020, resulting in his death. He then sat beside the body.

Thane: A court in Maharashtra’s Thane district has convicted a 62-year-old contractual gardener for killing his supervisor over money and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

In his order of July 7, made available on Friday, the Principal District and Sessions Judge SB Agrawal also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict Laxman Dita Kakan.

As per court papers, Kakan was working on the premises of a school in Mira Road. He and other gardeners were paid Rs 200 per week.

Additional Public Prosecutors AP Ladwanjari and Jaishree Korde told the court that Kakan attacked his supervisor Devilal Hariram Kalaguman (25) with a hammer after a dispute over pay in May 2020, resulting in his death. He then sat beside the body.

Other gardeners found the supervisor in a pool of blood and alerted the police, who arrested Kakan.

In all, 12 prosecution witnesses, including Kakan’s co-workers, were examined during the trial.

“Considering all the circumstances, I am of the view that the guilt of the accused has been proved by the prosecution beyond reasonable doubts,” the judge said, handing Kakan the life sentence.