MUMBAI: A sessions court on Tuesday convicted and sentenced a 46-year-old

to four years imprisonment for causing the death of his 48-year-old

by forcibly inserting a

into his rectum at a

at Cotton Green in 2015.

Santosh Arekar was booked and tried for murder but was found guilty under the lesser charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The act of the accused was not found to be intentional and pre-mediated. Judge Nandkishore L More directed Arekar to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 to the family of the victim, Yakub Shaikh, who lived with his wife and children at Sewri.

Arekar was arrested immediately after the incident on September 29, 2015, and his bail plea was rejected twice. Public prosecutor Ranjana Budhwant said among the dozen witnesses was a co-worker who had turned off the pipe and a doctor who deposed on the gruesome nature of the victim’s internal injuries.

The prosecution submitted that Arekar committed the act in anger after some ribbing between the victim and him. Budhwant submitted that Arekar had been employed at the centre for few months and was aware about the functioning of the pipe used to clean fourwheelers. “Hence, while there may not have been an intention to kill the victim, the accused knew it could cause his death,” the prosecution said.

After the charge-sheet was submitted, the victim’s widow had moved Bombay high court, stating that investigations were not proper. She mentioned the possibility of a hate crime and possible attack by more than one person. No family members deposed during the trial. The prosecution told court that on the day of the incident an employee, Abdul Khan, a key witness, heard shouting and rushed to the spot. When he found Yakub vomiting, he informed his superior.

Yakub was rushed to hospital but he died. In the charge-sheet police stated that Yakub had vomited blood, his body had swelled immediately and he had became unconscious. They said he had died on the spot. The accused told court earlier that there was no enmity between him and the victim. Seeking leniency, he told the court that he was the sole earner and his family depended on him.