Bareilly (UP), February 13 A local court here sentenced a man to life imprisonment for murdering his wife, relying on the testimony of their two minor daughters who deposed against him during the trial.
Special Judge Tabrez Ahmad awarded life imprisonment to Ramesh Chandra and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000, prosecution officials said.
According to Additional District Government Counsel Digambar Patel, the incident occurred on November 19, 2024, in Angadpur Khamaria village under the Bhuta police station area of Bareilly.
Police received information that Ramesh Chandra had attacked his wife, Rajeshwari Devi (35), with a sharp-edged weapon, killing her on the spot.
During the investigation, it was found that Rajeshwari was cooking when an argument broke out between the couple over the husband's suspicion of her alleged relationship with a relative.
In a fit of rage, the accused attacked her repeatedly on the head and neck with a "banka" (a sharp-edged agricultural tool), leading to her death, Patel said.
At the time of the incident, the couple's two daughters – Aparajita (14) and Swati (5) – were present in the house. Swati, who was sitting in her mother's lap, also sustained injuries in the attack.
After conducting the post-mortem, police sought a complaint from family members, but none came forward. Subsequently, Sub-Inspector Subhash Chandra lodged an FIR under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
During the trial, the prosecution examined 10 witnesses, including the two daughters of the accused.
Aparajita, a Class 9 student, told the court that when she returned from school that evening, her mother was cooking and her younger sister was sitting beside her. She said her father began arguing with her mother over the frequent visits of a relative, and then picked up the weapon and started assaulting her.
Swati, in her statement before the court, said that lying is wrong and revealed that her father had killed her mother, the prosecution said.
Relying on the eyewitness accounts of the daughters and the medical evidence, the court convicted Ramesh Chandra and sentenced him to life imprisonment, Patel added.
