Representational photo showing a gavel.
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Aligarh: A local court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for killing his wife over dowry demands, with the conviction resting squarely on the testimony of their four-year-old son.
Additional district judge Sanjay Yadav, in his July 14 order, convicted Akhilesh for the murder of his 32-year-old wife, Savitri, who died on February 10, 2022, in Nagla Banjara village under Gabhana police station limits.
The judge termed the case a significant one, citing the “clinching and consistent” testimony of the minor child, Atul, 4 year at that time, who was present in the house when the crime occurred.
The court noted that while all other witnesses — including the victim’s own mother Lilawati and brother Ramavatar — retracted their original statements, the forensic evidence and the child's account matched precisely in terms of the timeline and cause of death.
The postmortem had ruled out suicide and confirmed strangulation as the cause of death, contradicting the claims made by the accused and his family.
Atul, who was only four at the time of the incident, informed the court that his father was at home on the day of the death, contrary to what other family members testified.
“I will never lie because I remember everything clearly,” Atul said during his deposition, according to the judgment.
The court also took a serious view of the conduct of the victim’s brother, Ramavatar, who initially filed a dowry death complaint against Akhilesh but later supported the accused’s claim that he was not in the village when the incident occurred.
According to the prosecution, Savitri was subjected to years of domestic violence due to her family’s failure to fulfill dowry demands, including a motorcycle. She had been married for 12 years before her death.
Despite widespread witness retractions, the judge said the forensic and medical evidence, reinforced by the “truthful and unwavering” testimony of Atul, left no doubt about the guilt of the accused.
Family sources said the child is currently living with his paternal grandparents in the same village.