Nagpur: The Nagpur district and sessions court on Thursday sentenced Suraj Kokanake to life imprisonment for murdering a fellow inmate, Ayush Pugalia, inside Nagpur Central Prison, nearly four years after the fatal assault that took place inside a prison barrack.District and sessions judge Shekhar Totla convicted Kokanake after holding that the prosecution had established the case through eyewitness accounts and scientific evidence, including forensic findings. Assistant public prosecutor Shyam Khule conducted the prosecution.Pugalia had been convicted in the high-profile kidnapping and murder of eight-year-old Kush Kataria.The prosecution said a dispute broke out between the two inmates inside the barrack. During the altercation, Kokanake allegedly broke the handle of a large kitchen ladle, sharpened it into a weapon and repeatedly attacked Pugalia on the neck. He also struck him on the head with a stone tile, causing fatal injuries.Dhantoli police investigated the case and filed the chargesheet. During the trial, the prosecution examined 21 witnesses. The forensic report from the laboratory at Dhantoli was relied upon as a crucial scientific link corroborating the prosecution’s case.
