Bengaluru: A Bengaluru court on Thursday sentenced a 38-year-old techie to life imprisonment for the 2016 murder of his woman friend and imposed a Rs 10,000 fine. The prosecution relied largely on the “last seen” theory to secure conviction.Sukhbir Singh was found guilty of murdering Kusum Rani Singla, 31, an IBM techie who lived in an apartment in Kadugodi. Singh, from Haryana’s Palwal district, had earlier worked with Yahoo and Accenture in Bengaluru between 2011 and 2013 before moving to Delhi and other places.According to the chargesheet the victim was last seen alive when she came down to the security gate to escort Singh to her flat on Jan 19, 2016. CCTV footage showed Singh leaving around 3.30 pm, but alone. The postmortem report estimated that the victim was murdered between 12.30 pm and 3 pm. Statements from security guards and others who saw the two heading to the flat, along with CCTV visuals, played a vital role in clinching the conviction. “Handwriting experts also confirmed that the signature in the visitors’ book was that of Singh,” said public prosecutor Meenakumari Rajavamshi.The murder came to light around 8pm when Kusum’s roommate, Nidhi Sharma, returned home and found the main door ajar with blood-stained footprints near the door. Kusum was found dead with blood all over the room. She had strangulation marks on her neck and sharp stab injuries on the head. Police later found that Kusum’s phone, credit and debit cards were missing.Singh’s blood-stained clothes were recovered from the dustbin of an apparel shop at a nearby shopping mall. “After the murder, Singh went to the shop, bought new clothes and changed. He used Kusum’s debit card to make the payment.He left for Haryana the same night after withdrawing Rs 30,000 using Kusum’s card. Singh was arrested on Jan 21 from his village Mandkola.Kusum and Singh became friends on Facebook in Dec 2015. Police said Singh had been pressuring Rani for a loan of Rs 50,000. She refused, and reportedly told him that it was unbecoming of a man to repeatedly ask a woman for a loan, said police sources.GFXStrangled with laptop cord11 am: Nidhi, Kusum’s flatmate, leaves for office12.30 pm: Sukhbir Singh arrives to meet Kusum. He enters his name in the visitors’ logbook. Kusum comes down and takes him to her flat2.45 to 3 pm: Sukhbir strangles her with a laptop cord, then pierces her head with a sharp object3.30 pm – Sukhbir leaves with Kusum’s debit card and phone8pm – He flies to Haryana
