Date:25/01/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/01/25/stories/2007012504280600.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Killer of rail officer's family gets death term

Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD: It is death sentence for Chandrabhushan Upadhyay, main killer of the Seth family, while his three associates have been given life term by a local court here on Wednesday.

It took nearly four years and painstaking examination of 42 witnesses and hundreds of exhibits for the Ranga Reddy District Court to award the stringent punishments for those responsible for the grisly multiple killings and the gruesome way in which the bodies of the railway officer's family were burnt in their car in Malkajigiri.

Fifth Additional District and Sessions Judge (Full Additional Charge) R. Gopalakrishna Murthy awarded the sentence in a packed court as the convicted persons watched silently.

Munna Kumar, Moni Singh and Maheswar were given life terms while Upadhyay's sister Anju Chouby was given a three-year term.

The police said Upadhyay, for whom avenging the humiliation was the motive for the killings, remained totally nonchalant as the judgement was delivered.

Senior railway officer Baldev Raj Seth (57), his wife Prabha, 50, daughter Kannika (11) and son Rishabh (7) were killed one by one in their bungalow in Mettuguda on March 17, 2003. Their bodies were later stuffed in their car, which was driven to Malkajigiri and set on fire by the foursome. Seth's elder daughter Mrinal escaped as she was away in Delhi.

None of the witnesses had turned hostile in the case.