The deposition of two minor siblings was considered as significant evidence by a Thane court which awarded five years imprisonment to their 45-year-old father for abetting the suicide of his wife. Assistant Sessions Judge S A Sinha held the accused, Sunil Martand Gaikwad, guilty under IPC sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 498 A (cruelty) while pronouncing the punishment last week. The judge also imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on him.

The prosecution told the court that Gaikwad, a resident of Gorsai village in Thane's Bhiwandi taluka, had married the victim, Vaishali, on May 27, 2005. The couple had a son and a daughter, aged 11 and 10 at present. As per the prosecution, the accused would come home late from work after consuming liquor and then fight with his wife. Fed up with the harassment, the woman hanged herself at her home on June 21, 2017, they said.