Bhavnagar man gets life term for woman’s murder two months after bus station attack

• A Bhavnagar court has sentenced Faisal Lakhani to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life for murdering Kajal Baraiya

• The verdict came on 5 November, around two months after the fatal assault at a city bus station

• The prosecution presented 14 witnesses and nearly 50 pieces of documentary evidence, including testimony from an eyewitness who had been abducted

A sessions court in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar has sentenced a man to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life for murdering his partner in an assault at a busy bus station, delivering its verdict around two months after the crime.

Principal Sessions Judge Rizwana Bukhari convicted Faisal Lakhani of murdering Kajal Baraiya and pronounced the sentence on Thursday, 5 November. Baraiya had lived with Lakhani as his wife on a footpath for eight years.

Lakhani attacked Baraiya near the entrance to the bus station on 3 September. She died from her injuries the following day, after which Nilambag police registered a murder case.

According to the prosecution, Lakhani had recently completed a jail term and suspected Baraiya of having an affair with an acquaintance of his. On finding the two sitting together at the bus station, he attacked them.

Police said Lakhani punched and kicked Baraiya and repeatedly struck her head against a wall and the tiled floor, causing fatal injuries.

The assault sparked widespread public outrage, leading police to set up a Special Investigation Team. Investigators filed a chargesheet on 4 October, and the trial concluded with the sentencing just over a month later.

The court accepted the prosecution’s evidence, which comprised testimony from 14 witnesses and nearly 50 pieces of documentary evidence.

During the proceedings, the prosecution also said Lakhani had arranged the abduction of a key eyewitness to stop him from giving evidence. The witness was held captive for three days before being rescued and brought to court to testify.

The prosecution cited Lakhani’s history of criminal cases, including robbery and other serious offences, while describing his conduct and the attempt to obstruct the trial.

The police response to the killing had also drawn attention. During a reconstruction of the crime, officers flogged Lakhani at the site of the assault. Officials claimed the action was intended to appease public sentiment, and a video of the flogging circulated widely on social media.

Under the sentence imposed by the court, Lakhani will remain imprisoned for the rest of his natural life, with no possibility of earlier release.

With PTI inputs