Man gets life term for brutally killing lover

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The sessions court judge R D Khedekar, on Thursday, convicted the accused Shubham Bhausaheb Bagul (28, Siddharthnagar, N-12 Hudco) of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment along with a fine of ₹20,000. In a dispute arising out of a love affair, a married woman was murdered by having her throat slit.

What was the incident?

According to the complaint lodged by the deceased woman’s aunt, Sharda Wahul, the woman and Shubham had been in a love relationship prior to the incident. Earlier, the woman’s relatives had also filed a complaint at Harsul Police Station, alleging that Shubham had abducted her on the pretext of love. However, as the relationship was consensual, no action was taken.

For the past few months, the two had been living together in the Siddharthnagar area of N-12 Hudco. As Shubham was addicted to alcohol, he subjected the woman to constant harassment. Fed up with the continuous abuse, she left him and began living in a rented house in the same locality with her two children. Despite this, Shubham continued to stalk and harass her repeatedly.

On December 6, 2018, at around 5 pm, Shubham went to the woman’s house. When she refused to live with him, an argument broke out. In a fit of rage, Shubham slit her throat with a cutter, killing her. A case in this regard was registered at Cidco Police Station.

Trial and sentence

After completing the investigation, the then police sub-inspector C V Thube filed the charge sheet. During the trial, assistant public prosecutor Arivind Bagul examined 15 witnesses. Key evidence included forensic proof of the accused’s handprints, medical testimony stating that the victim’s throat had been cut to a length of 27 cm, and that half of a cutter blade was lodged in her neck.

Notably, three women witnesses who had seen the accused fleeing after committing the murder later turned hostile. After hearing the case, the court held the accused guilty and sentenced him under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code to life imprisonment and a fine of ₹20,000. In default of payment of the fine, the accused will have to undergo an additional six months’ imprisonment.

The case was pursued by court liaison officers (pairavi adhikari) head constables B A Borde and Sunil Jadhav.