Sentencing in Pallavi Purkayastha murder case to take place today

The sentencing of the main accused, 22-year-old Sajjad Ahmed Moghul, in the Pallavi Purkayastha murder case will take place on Thursday. Sajjad, a security guard at the Wadala flat where Pallavi resided, was convicted on charges of murder, molestation and trespassing.

Pallavi was an advocate working for Excel Entertainment Pvt Ltd who lived in the Himalayan Heights building in Wadala along with her boyfriend Avik Sengupta.

On the morning of 9 August, 2012, Sajjad broke into Pallavi’s apartment and attempted to rape her. When Pallavi aggressively fought back, he slit her throat.

Sajjad had bought a knife 15 days before the crime and had told other building staff he intended to intimidate and rape Pallavi. On the night before the incident, he deliberately tripped the power. When the electrician came to fix the problem, he stole Pallavi’s house keys. Sajjad had also turned off the intercom of the flat and four CCTV cameras on the morning of the incident.

He was arrested by the Mumbai police on the evening when Pallavi’s body was found at the Mumbai Central railway terminus. Sajjad had intended to catch a train to Surat from where he planned to escape to Jammu and Kashmir.

Following the murder, police reported that Pallavi’s boyfriend Avik had suffered from depression. He eventually passed away after an illness in November 2013.

This infamous murder case made the stringent documentation of security guards hired by private firms mandatory. Moreover, Pallavi’s murder inspired Farhan Akhtar, the owner of Excel Entertainment, to start ‘Men Against Rape and Discrimination’ (MARD) in 2013.