Keonjhar,Oct 9: A local court in Keonjhar on Tuesday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for killing his wife over a petty issue at Gopinathpur village under Sadar police station area in January 2021.

The convict identified as Dillip Bentkar has also been directed to pay Rs 5000 as a fine.

“The convict Dillip and his deceased wife, Sabita, used to earn their living working as daily wagers. On January 6, 2021, the convict upon return from work picked a fight with his wife over some petty issues. He later thrashed Sabita brutally with a wooden stick and bricks near his house,” said the public prosecutor Pradeep Kumar Das.

Das further stated that Dilip dragged the seriously injured victim into his house before escaping from the spot. The lady subsequently succumbed to the injuries after a few minutes.

Based on the complaint filed by the deceased’s brother, the Keonjhar Sadar police registered a case and arrested the accused from his hideout on January 7, 2021.

The court after going through the statements of 11 witnesses and other exhibits on Tuesday pronounced the judgement holding Dilip guilty of killing his wife.

The court has directed the Keonjhar District Legal Services Authority to provide adequate financial compensation to each of the three children of the deceased woman and her brother.

Meanwhile, a POCSO court in Balasore district on Tuesday sentenced a 19-year-old youth to twenty years of rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping and raping a minor girl in Berhampur Police Station area of Balasore district in April this year.

“The convict identified as Sukumar Singh alias Mantu forcefully took away the girl who had gone to watch an opera in a nearby village on April 3. The convict later sexually abused the victim. Based on a missing complaint filed by the victim’s family, the police arrested the convict from his hideout in the Udala area of the Mayurbhanj district a few days later,” said Public Prosecutor Pranab Kumar Panda.

The court pronounced the judgement after hearing the statements of 15 witnesses and 22 exhibits. The court has directed the Balasore District Legal Services Authority to pay a compensation of Rs 4 lakhs to the victim minor.

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