30-07-2025
Man who killed wife for cooking rice for lunch handed life term
Noida: The sessions court on Monday sentenced an auto driver, Anuj Kumar (41), to rigorous life imprisonment for killing his wife in 2022.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000, directing that 50% of the amount be paid to the father of the victim, Varun Prasad, who is the complainant in the case.
The court observed that although the crime was heinous, the convict was not given capital punishment, considering his social and psychological circumstances, as he has elderly parents and two children to take care of.
You Can Also Check:
Noida AQI
|
Weather in Noida
|
Bank Holidays in Noida
|
Public Holidays in Noida
Sessions Judge Malkhan Singh noted that murder is always foul; however, the degree of brutality, depravity, and diabolic nature differs in each case.
"In the case of murder, a life sentence is a rule, and the death penalty is an exception," he noted while rejecting the prosecution's demand to declare it as the rarest of the rare case and award capital punishment to the convict.
Appearing for the state, district govt counsel Brahmjeet Bhati said, "The duo were married for more than 14 years and had two children when, on the afternoon of September 10, 2022, Anuj Kumar, the convict, lost his temper over rice being cooked for lunch and brutally assaulted his wife, Khushboo Singh, resulting in her death."
Varun Prasad, father of the deceased, told the court that he got information about his daughter being killed by the neighbours.
Upon receiving the information, Prasad rushed to their house and found his daughter lying in a pool of blood. "I lodged a formal complaint at the Phase-III Police Station," he said.
Anuj was arrested by police on September 13, 2022, from Sector 59 metro station, and the CJM court took cognisance on September 29, framing charges under IPC Section 302 (Punishment for murder) on November 11. However, the accused denied all charges and sought a trial.
The prosecution presented eight witnesses in total, including investigating officer Vijay Kumar, presented as Prosecution Witness 6 (PW6), who said that after being arrested, the accused admitted to killing his wife as she cooked rice for him, which was bad for his health as he was diabetic. Kumar also said that, on his indication, the murder weapon, a griddle, smeared in blood was recovered from the place of occurrence.
His statement was supported by next-door neighbour Vijay, who was presented as PW7. He told the court that on the afternoon of September 10, 2022, the accused came out of his house holding a pan with blood on it, saying, "There would be no more arguments over food now; I have finished the tantrums of my wife," which the court admitted as testimony to establish the last seen factum.
The court found substance in the statement of the investigating officer, which indicated the motive of the murder and declared the accused guilty under IPC Section 302.
