A local court has sentenced a 38-year-old man to 5 years rigorous imprisonment in connection with his wife's death in 2014.
Thane District Judge A S Bhaisare yesterday convicted one Shiv Kumar Patel, a railway employee, under section 304A (causing death due to negligence) of IPC and also slapped a fine of Rs 1,000 on him.
If Patel fails to pay the fine, then he will undergo 3 months additional imprisonment, the judge, who relied upon the deposition by his 10-year-old-son, noted.
The prosecutor told the court that Patel used to frequently quarrel with his 36-year-old wife Shalini Patil, a who was RPF Constable, over petty issues.
The couple had two sons one aged ten and another eight.
On December 10, 2014, Shalini was found dead in mysterious circumstances in the house and the police then registered a case of accidental death, the court was told.
Later on the receipt of the autopsy report, police converted it into a case of murder under section 302 of IPC and arrested the accused.
His elder son deposed that his father hit his mother following which she collapsed and never woke up. Then, Patel dropped him to school and when he returned, his mother was still lying on the bed in an unconscious manner.
Subsequently, she was taken to a hospital and was declared dead before admission.
Patel suspected that his wife was having an extra-martial relationship, the court was told.
