The security guard who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2012 murder of Mumbai-based lawyer Pallavi Purkayastha has jumped parole and is untraceable. Sajjad Mogul, who was lodged in Nashik Central Jail, was granted parole in February and he was supposed to be back in prison by the end of May. A case has been filed at Nashik Road police station.
“I am not sure of the exact date of his release on parole, but he was supposed to report back to the jail on May 28. Now that it is going to be a month since he has not returned, the jail authorities believe that he has jumped parole,” Police Inspector Mahesh Tawde told The Indian Express.
Another police officer said the local police station will contact authorities in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, Mogul's native place. Hindustan Times reported that Mumbai Police are investigating into who granted Mogul parole.
The woman's father Atanu Purkayastha has demanded the Deputy Commissioner of Police and the Jail Superintendent “be sacked.” “The opinion of the Mumbai Police investigating officer was not asked [before parole was granted]. There is an appeal petition pending before the high court because the Maharashtra government is seeking capital punishment for him,” he said.
Pallavi Purkayastha was murdered on August 9, 2012. Mogul, who was a watchman at the Wadala building in central Mumbai where she used to stay, was convicted of murder, molestation and criminal trespass in July 2014. The 25-year-old worked at Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar’s firm Excel Entertainment as a legal advisor before she was killed. Mogul was arrested from Mumbai Central station within 24 hours of committing the crime.
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