Life until death for Pratibha Murthy rapist-killer

A fast track court in Karnataka on Friday pronounced life sentence to a BPO cab driver for raping and murdering call center employee Pratibha Murthy in 2005.

The mother of the victim has demanded death sentence for the convict, but the court awarded a “life until death” for the convict.

The judge said the case is rarest of rare and his punishment is “life until death”, which apparently means he would not be let out after 14 years in prison.

The crime had shocked the country and prompted the BPO sector to formulate safety guidelines.

The judge on Wednesday said all charges of rape and murder were proved against Shivakumar, the driver of a car of the call centre where the victim worked, and he was held guilty.

Pratibha Srikantha Murthy, a call centre employee, was raped and murdered on the night of Dec 13, 2005, allegedly by her office car driver Shivakumar.

The girl was killed after being raped allegedly by the accused who had picked her up on the fateful night when the regular driver failed to turn up.

The parents of the victims are fighting the case to bring the accused to justice.

“He should be hanged. For me nobody is there. I have to suffer till my death. The judgement should be a lesson to others so that they do not commit such a crime,” said Gowramma, the mother of the victim, on Wednesday.

“I will fight till end,” she said.