PANAJI
In jail for 14 years, serial killer Mahanand Naik, infamous as the "dupatta killer", was on Thursday allowed a 21-day furlough. The permission granted by the Prisons Department will mark his first release from 14 years of imprisonment as on date.
As per the furlough order, he was allowed to leave the jail premises on the evening of June 15 with a strict direction to return to jail after the completion of his temporary release, on July 5.
Naik faced serious accusations of murdering up to 16 young women from 1994 to 2009. His sinister method involved preying on young girls aged 19 to 25, gaining their trust, and luring them into marriage. Subsequently, he would take them to isolated locations where he robbed them of their valuables and brutally killed them using the victims' dupatta.
It was in 2009 that he was arrested by the Ponda police in connection with a rape case, which exposed him of his deeds.
After his arrest, he confessed to his involvement in multiple crimes, prompting the police to register all 16 cases against him. During this time, former Inspector Chetan Patil played a significant role in the investigation and legal proceedings.
In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court upheld the life sentence by the Additional District and Sessions Court in the Vasanti Gawde murder case, which occurred in Ponda in 1995. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.30 lakh. He has so far been found guilty in three murder cases and acquitted in four others.
Naik's earlier furlough applications were rejected after it was opposed by activists who apprehended his release could threaten the lone surviving victim.
