Why a Mumbai Court Handed a Life Term to a Man for a Chilling Murder Using a Broken Teacup
3 min readMumbaiUpdated: Apr 16, 2026 01:02 PM IST
A Mumbai sessions court on Wednesday sentenced a 44-year-old man to life imprisonment for killing a three-year-old boy over a broken teacup in 2017, relying heavily on the testimony of the child’s elder sister, who witnessed the assault at the age of five.
The court found Nitin Pathare guilty of murder and destruction of evidence, noting that he strangled the child and later buried the body to conceal the crime.
“In regard to the incident, she (the sister) stated that Nitin gave tea to her brother. The cup slipped from the child’s hands and broke. Nitin then assaulted him with a belt and his hands, strangulated him, and hit him on the floor… The evidence reflects that the accused, with the intention to kill, caused such injuries that led to his death,” additional sessions judge Mahesh K Jadhav said.
According to the prosecution, Pathare had met the victim’s mother on a train when she was travelling with her two children to Nashik. Distressed over the lack of financial support from her estranged husband, she accepted his offer of help.
A few days later, when she came to Mumbai to meet a lawyer he had referred, Pathare met her in Ghatkopar and took her and the children to his home, promising to help her find a job. The woman later alleged that he confined them and threatened to kill the children.
On September 27, 2017, Pathare allegedly asked the woman to step out to look for work in Thane. Around noon, he called her, claiming the boy had suffered an epileptic attack and fallen. When she returned, he allegedly told her he had killed her son.
The woman told the court that she found the child lying with injury marks and that Pathare threatened to kill her five-year-old daughter if she spoke about the incident. The girl later told her that her brother had broken a teacup, which angered Pathare, who then strangled him with a belt.
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The court also noted that Pathare forced the woman to accompany him to dispose of the body. They travelled to Haji Malang in Kalyan, where he buried the child in a pit around 5 am. Days later, he allegedly dug up the body and buried it again in a deeper pit.
The crime came to light after the woman managed to escape following another assault. She sought help from neighbours, who alerted the police. The body was later exhumed, and an autopsy was conducted.
