Ludhiana, March 10
Mr S.M.S. Mahal, Additional Sessions Judge, has sentenced Pritpal Singh, an army man of Ghaloti village, to 10 years’ of rigorous imprisonment in a dowry death case. His wife, Pritpal Kaur, died of burn injuries just after seven months of their marriage. The Judge also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the accused.
The mother-in-law of the deceased, Charanjit Kaur (51), has also been awarded seven year’s imprisonment, besides a fine of Rs 3,000. After pronouncing the judgement, both accused were sent to Central Jail here.
“The
menace of lust for dowry by unscrupulous husbands and in-laws of the helpless brides, who are brought up by their parents with the hope that they will lead a happy married life, is on the increase. This is such an evil in the society, which can be eradicated only with an iron hand,” remarked Mr Mahal, while declining the plea of leniency raised by the accused. The Judge further observed, “Plight of Pritpal Kaur, who had died on account of burns can be well judged, as the death by burns is the most painful and the victim dies bit by bit.”
An FIR was registered against the accused on December 26, 2000, under Section 304-B of the IPC at the Payal police station. According to prosecution, the accused persons maltreated the bride and were demanding a scooter and gold. The parents of the deceased failed to fulfil their demands, which resulted into this untoward incident.
The husband and the mother-in-law of the deceased pleaded not guilty. They said that the firewood was also stacked in that room (where the dead body of bride was found) and there was fire in the fire place over which a pot was lying. The fire might have broken out accidentally, they added.
But after taking into consideration relevant aspects, the statements of 12 prosecution witnesses and photographs of the scenes, the court rejected the plea taken by the defence. “The photographs indicate that the fire was only in one corner of the room and the entire remaining room, including clothes hung over the hooks were intact. Therefore, in my considered opinion, it was not a case of accidental fire,” further observed the Judge.
Meanwhile, Mr Mahal acquitted Amritpal Singh (40) of Sudhar village of the charges of setting the ‘wheat chaff room’ of his mother on fire. All prime prosecution witnesses, including the complainant had turned hostile, which resulted into the acquittal of the accused.
He was booked under Section 436 and 427 of the IPC at the Sudhar police station, on the statement of his mother, Hardev Kaur. According to the prosecution, the complainant had stated to the police on August 27, 2002, that the accused had beaten her up when she prevented the accused from beating his wife. She went to the police for lodging a complaint, but when she returned, she found her wheat chaff room set on fire by the accused.
