10-year-old girl's testimony leads to woman getting life sentence for daughter-in-law's murder

Thane:The testimony of a 10-year-old girl has led to the conviction by the Thane sessions court of a 76-year-old woman for burning her daughter-in-law alive.

The girl, who saw her mother being set on fire, was the sole eyewitness to the incident that took place six years ago.

Sessions judge D S Deshmukh on Wednesday held that the prosecution proved beyond all doubts the charges against Jamnaben Mangaldas Mange, and sentenced her to life imprisonment. The court, however, acquitted the victim's husband Ashok Mange (40), giving him the benefit of doubt.

The judge also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the old woman, to be paid to the girl as a compensation.

Additional Public Prosecutor Sandhya H Mhatre told the court that Daksha Mange (30), married to Ashok Mange, faced harassment from her mother-in-law Jamnaben Mange.

Two-and-half months prior to the incident, the accused drove her out of the house, the prosecutor said, adding that she had assaulted her daughter-in-law and thrown her out of the house earlier too.

Daksha visited her husband's house along with her daughter on the evening of April 13, 2018, to collect documents for the girl's school admission.

Jamnaben dragged her daughter-in-law to the kitchen and set her on fire after dousing her with kerosene. The girl, then 10 years old, raised an alarm and tried to save her mother, the prosecution told the court.

On hearing the girl's cries, neighbours rushed in and took Daksha to hospital, but she died next day, having sustained up to 80 per cent burn injuries.

While the prosecution examined seven witnesses, the victim's daughter was the key witness who narrated the whole incident in the court very clearly, said prosecutor Mhatre.

Her deposition and the victim's dying declaration proved to be vital pieces of evidence, she said.

The prosecutor, in her arguments, also noted the help rendered by woman police constable Amodh Sadekar during the trial.