Justice has been served after 17 years in the 2009 murder of retired IISc professor Purushottam Lal Sachdev and his family in Bengaluru. The Karnataka High Court has sentenced domestic help Suchitra Haldar, her husband Deepak Haldar, and two others to life imprisonment. The court also directed guidelines for background checks on migrant workers.
A triple murder in February 2009 shocked Bengaluru's RT Nagar area. The bodies of retired IISc professor Purushottam Lal Sachdev (71 years), his wife Rita (67 years), and physically challenged son Deepak alias Munna (35 years) were found in their home. The killings occurred on February 15, with bodies discovered the next day.
Adopted son Anurag alias Happy alerted a neighbor, who informed the police. Initial probes suspected domestic help Suchitra Haldar (31 years) and her family from West Bengal, employed by the Sachdevs for over a month. Suchitra cleaned the house, while Deepak washed the car.
Central Crime Branch inspector C W Poovaiah took charge after 10 months. His team traveled 2,000 km to South 24 Parganas district's Naxal-affected area to locate the Haldars. They were arrested in November 2010, living under fake names. Interrogation revealed Deepak, Suchitra, Mohammed Sarbal (38 years), and Bidan Shikari (31 years) committed the murders to steal gold jewelry, cash, and other items. A third accused, Pradeep Naskar, remains at large.
In 2016, the trial court acquitted them citing insufficient evidence. On the state's appeal, the Karnataka High Court on February 27, 2026, upheld the conviction based on the 'last seen' theory and circumstantial evidence. Justices H P Sandesh and Venkatesh Naik T stated, 'The prosecution has proved the chain of circumstances, including motive, recovery, and conduct of the accused.' All four received life imprisonment under IPC sections 120B, 302, and 201.
The court directed the Karnataka government to implement police verification for domestic workers and awareness campaigns, without stigmatizing migrants. Poovaiah, now 65, said, 'I am very happy that justice has been served.'
