Court convicts duo of rape and murder of Pune BPO employee

A Pune court today convicted two persons who were accused of raping a Pune BPO employee and then murdering her in November 2007.

The duo, Purshottam Borate and Pradip Kokate, were found guilty of the charges of raping and murdering 22-year-old Jyotikumari Choudhary and then disposing of her body in the Wadgaon area on the outskirts of Pune.

The court is expected to pronounce the sentence on the two accused on Monday.

The duo were employed with a company that provided vehicles to the Spectramind BPO in Pune.

Borate was a driver of the office vehicle that Choudhary had boarded to go to work on 1 November, 2007 after which she went missing.

The victim’s brother-in-law had lodged a complaint with the police and during investigations her body was discovered. Police officials investigating the case had said that the duo had first strangled the girl and then smashed her head with stones.

Choudhary, a native of Gorakhpur was living with her sister and brother-in-law in Pune while working in the BPO. Ironically, it was her last day of work at the BPO on the day she was killed.

The case had raised concerns about the security of BPO workers who often have to travel at odd hours to work.