In a chilling judgment, the Jharkhand High Court on Monday confirmed the death penalty for Deepak Kumar, who was convicted of murdering four people, including his wife and daughters, in a case that was reportedly inspired by crime thrillers on OTT platforms. Justices Rongon Mukhopadhyay and Arun Kumar Rai described the murders as “horrendous and rarest of rare,” affirming the lower court’s decision to impose the ultimate punishment.
Deepak Kumar, a Jamshedpur resident employed in a private conglomerate, carried out the brutal murders using methods depicted in crime thrillers. According to Special Public Prosecutor Vineet Kumar Vashisht, Kumar first attacked his wife, Veena Devi, with a hammer while she slept, before proceeding to murder his two minor daughters in a similar manner.
The prosecutor revealed that Kumar had planned to continue his killing spree by targeting his business partner, Roshan, due to a business rivalry. However, his plan was interrupted when a private tutor arrived at the house, discovering the gruesome scene. In a desperate attempt to eliminate any witnesses, Kumar murdered the tutor, committing additional acts of violence.
The horrific events unfolded further when Roshan, along with his brother and wife, arrived at Kumar’s home for a prearranged lunch. Kumar attacked the men with a hammer but was ultimately subdued. Roshan’s wife managed to escape and raise an alarm, leading to Kumar’s flight from the scene.
Authorities later arrested Kumar in Dhanbad, tracing him through bank transactions linked to the sale of his wife’s stolen jewelry. The evidence presented at trial painted a gruesome picture of a man influenced by fictional crime narratives to commit real-world atrocities.
