Man gets life term for 2006 Infosys techie murder

Public prosecutor Subhash Kalbhor examined 29 witnesses in the case.

Poddar,a resident of Monalisa Apartment in Malad,Mumbai,worked with Infosys in Hinjewadi. His Pune residence was at Aundh. According to investigators,he left office around 4.30 pm on March 14 and took a lift in a private car at Wakad,driven by the accused.

Investigations revealed that before reaching Mumbai,they offered him a cold drink spiked with 30 pills of strong sedatives and within minutes he lost consciousness. They robbed him of his gold chain,cash and credit cards. They threw the body of Poddar,who died of drug overdose,into a ditch at Jategaon on the Pen-Panvel road.

When Poddar did not reach Mumbai,his wife lodged a missing person report at Hinjewadi police station in Pune on March 15. A team led by inspector Rajendra Bhamre started a probe and the police found the body on March 17.

When Poddar’s wife noticed purchases still being made using Poddar’s credit card,she informed police. Tracking the purchases,the team reached a shopping mall in Vashi,from where some electronic appliances and SIM cards were purchased using the credit card.

The SIM cards helped police locate Victor’s house in Andheri but he fled before police arrived. Police recovered the car used in the crime and sedatives from the vehicle.

Following leads from the girlfriend of another accused,police arrested Victor and detained his stepbrother,a minor,at Mauje Aaspur village in Dungarpur district of Rajasthan on March 27. The third suspect,whose name is not being disclosed as it could hamper investigations,is yet to be traced.