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| Husband gets death sentence for killing pregnant wife | | | early times report
Jammu, Nov 3 (JNF): In a landmark judgment 1st Additional Sessions Judge Jammu YP Bourney today awarded death sentence to one Rakesh Kumar r/o Village Banota Tehsil RS Pura for burning pregnant wife Neena Devi after sprinkling petrol over her.
According to the prosecution case on March 14, 2007 deceased Neena Devi w/o accused was admitted in GMC Jammu with severe burn injuries. On receipt of this information, SHO P/S RS Pura deputed head constable Mohammad Afzal for recording her statement in the hospital.
The deceased in her statement disclosed that she got married with the accused about 1 ½ yrs back and out of their wed-lock a male child was born. Shortly after their marriage accused started harassing her for not having brought adequate dowry and also used to beat her. On March 14, 2007 morning at 10:00 AM she had an argument with her husband.
Accused dragged her by putting a dupatta around her neck and then set her ablaze by sprinkling petrol. Her father-in-law and aunt-in-law extinguished the fire and shifted her to hospital, whereas accused fled away from the spot. FIR NO 17/2007 u/s 498-A, 302 RPC was registered and after completion of investigation challan was presented in the court. Accused was formally charged on June 1, 2007 and the accused pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried.
After a full-fledged trial, Court held accused guilty of unnatural death of a young bride Neena Devi who succumbed to injuries due to 91% burn injuries.
After hearing APP Harpal Singh for the State whereas Advocate BS Sudan appearing for accused, the court observed that it is a case of unnatural death of a young bride and the prosecution case is based upon the dying declaration of the deceased recorded immediately before her death and the other circumstantial evidence under which she is shown to have sustained the extensive burns up to 91%.
Court further held that crime has been committed in a most brutal, barbaric and ghastly manner and it appears to be pre-planned as petrol is not a house hold commodity commonly stored and used in the houses more particularly when there are many petrol pumps in the vicinity. Then, it is not only a case of murder of one person but also the squeezing of another life of a baby in the womb of the mother. Moreover the crime has been perpetrated for the single reason of the inability of wife to meet the illegal demands of dowry. Cases of such nature arouse intense and extreme indignation of the society and the collective conscious of the society is so shocked that it expects the holders of judicial power to inflict extreme penalty as such crimes are so outrageous that society insist on adequate punishment because the wrong doer deserves it irrespective of whether it is deterrent or not. The offender no doubt is a young man of about 30 yrs. who has no previous criminal history. However, the manner in which the crime has been committed by him against his young and pregnant bride of less than two yrs. whom he took vows to maintain and protect before the holy fire at the time of marriage, brings it within the rarest of the rare cases so as to warrant the extreme penalty.
With these observations court sentenced the accused to death for the commission of offence u/s 302 RPC. Court further directed that he shall be hanged by the neck till he is dead. JNF |
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