3 sentenced to life for murdering child rights body ex-chairperson in 2014

By Sumesh Rajan | May 18, 2025

 Meenakshi Jaiswal

NAVI MUMBAI, INDIA — Nearly 11 years after the gruesome murder of prominent child rights activist and advocate Meenakshi Jaiswal, the Panvel Sessions Court on May 17, 2025, sentenced three men to life imprisonment for her killing in what was initially planned as a robbery.

 

Delivering the verdict, Additional Sessions Judge S.S. Shinde found Maninder Singh alias Mithu, Vinayak Thavra Chavan, and Suraj Rambhavan Jaiswal guilty of murder and robbery under Sections 302 and 392 of the Indian Penal Code. Singh and Jaiswal were also sentenced to an additional seven years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 397 for armed dacoity, with fines of ₹70,000 each.

 

Jaiswal, 46, former chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and wife of then Malegaon Additional Sessions Judge Dr. Santosh Jaiswal, was found murdered in her apartment at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai, on December 19, 2014. Her throat had been slit and her fingers severed. The discovery was made by the family doctor, who visited the home after her husband’s repeated calls went unanswered.

 

According to the prosecution, the murder was the result of a planned robbery that spiralled into violence. Domestic help Vinayak Chavan, employed as a driver by the Jaiswal family, had allegedly conspired with the others—electrician Maninder Singh and carpenter Suraj Jaiswal—to gain access to the home under the pretence of carrying out electrical repairs. The fourth accused, Surendrakumar Chamanlal Batra, who allegedly masterminded the plan alongside Chavan, died during the course of the trial.

 

Prosecutors revealed that Jaiswal’s trust in Chavan, who was recommended by a police officer known to the family, facilitated the crime. “He was the nephew of a police officer I knew and did his job well. My wife trusted him. He exploited that trust to bring in the other men, pretending they were there to work on cables,” Dr. Santosh Jaiswal, now retired and working as a legal consultant, stated.

 

The assailants attacked Jaiswal after asking her for water, stabbing her with sharp weapons and fleeing with cash and valuables amounting to ₹2.5 lakh (approx. USD 3,000 at the time).

 

Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam led the case with advocate Prasad Patil, presenting strong circumstantial evidence, including the recovery of stolen gold items. Although there were no eyewitnesses, the court found the evidence compelling enough to convict all surviving accused.

 

Dr. Jaiswal also recalled speaking to his wife briefly during a recess from court proceedings on the day of the murder. When she failed to respond to later calls, he contacted their family physician to check on her—a decision that led to the tragic discovery.

 

The Jaiswals’ two sons, now practicing doctors, were away for their education at the time of the incident.

 

The case stands as a chilling reminder of how betrayal by trusted employees can end in tragic violence—and how justice, even if delayed, can eventually prevail.