A dismissed police constable, who had killed his three young sons in 2019, suspecting that they were not his biological children, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the sessions court in Bhavnagar on Wednesday.
The court of principal district and sessions judge LS Pirzada convicted Sukhdev Shiyal and sentenced him to life imprisonment till his last breathe.
Shiyal, 37, was an armed constable posted at police headquarters in 2019 when he committed the crime.
On September 1, 2019, he returned home from duty at noon and told his wife Jigna to go and rest in the other room saying he wanted to play some games with his sons. Thereafter, he locked the door of her room and slit the throats of all three children one after another using a sickle.
The eldest son was seven years old, the second five years and the youngest was just two-and-a-half years. .
Jigna woke up hearing the shrieks of her sons but couldn’t open the door. She desperately pleaded with Shiyal to open the door but he did not listen. She then started screaming for help from the window and requested the neighbours to open the door. When the neighbours entered, they saw blood splattered in the main room and blood stains all over the wall.
On going inside the room, they saw all three boys lying dead in a pool of blood.
Shiyal himself informed the police control room and surrendered.
Shiyal himself informed the police control room and surrendered.
Public prosecutor MR Joshi said, “The accused killed his three children suspecting that he was not their father and was doubtful of his wife’s character. However, DNA reports confirmed that he was the biological father. Nobody was present in the room except the three children and Shiyal.
Blood of the victims was found on his clothes and the murder weapon was also seized.”
The prosecution produced 19 witnesses in this case including government witnesses and submitted 70 documentary evidence to prove its case.
A complaint was lodged against Haliya by the deceased’s husband.