Thane court sentences 33-yr-old man to 5 years RI for wife's death after assault

A court in Maharashtras Thane district sentenced a man to five years of rigorous imprisonment for beating his wife and causing her death reported news agency PTIAdditional Sessions Judge Dr Rachna R Tehra found Bikas Vishwanath Yadav 33 guilty of charges under section 325 voluntarily causing grievous hurt of the Indian Penal Code based on his minor daughters deposition reported PTIThe accused was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5000 was imposed on him A copy of the detailed order dated September 12 was made available on Tuesday reported PTIAccording to PTI additional public prosecutor Sandhya Mhatre told the court that the accused and his wife Rani Raj Chavan were residents of Shilphata in Thane districtOn September 29 2017 the accused beat his wife with a plastic pipe and banged her head against a wall due to which she sustained severe injuries and died in treatment at a hospital the prosecutor said submitting that the accused should be convicted of murderThe court noted that the couples daughter who was seven years old at the time of the incident had witnessed the attack and her evidence needed to be scrutinised carefullyThe girl in her deposition had stated that her father had quarrelled with her mother and assaulted her with a pipe rendering her unconscious with a head injury the court said reported PTIThe girl has stood as firm as the Rock of Gibraltar it saidThere is voluntary evidence establishing a link between the seized pipe and injuries sustained by the deceased the court observed while convicting the accused reported PTIMeanwhile a court in Maharashtras Thane district acquitted five persons accused of attacking and killing a man at a village in Bhiwandi taluka reported PTIAdditional sessions judge P M Gupta in his order held that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against the alleged accused who were residents of Payegaon village The copy of the order dated October 3 was made available on Sunday reported PTIAccording to the prosecution the alleged accused had attacked the victim Sadanand Devlikar with iron rods and knives around 7 am on July 9 2011 The victim sustained severe injuries and was declared dead at a hospitalThe judge in his order rejected the deposition of the victims widow citing that it was not trustworthyHe noted that the crime was reported to the police nearly two hours after it occurred though the informant and other prosecution witnesses had mobile phones and had contacted each other to pass on information about the incidentThere was no immediate motive for the accused persons to commit the crime the court held while acquitting themWith inputs from PTI