Man gets life term for killing wife

A court in Thane district of Maharashtra has sentenced a 31-year-old real estate agent to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife in 2015.

District judge P P Jadhav held Mukesh Sukarya Bhandari from Koviligaon of Kalyan guilty under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing the disappearance of evidence of offence) and awarded the sentence on Monday. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 60,000 on him.

Public prosecutors Vinit Kulkarni and Vivek Kadu told the court that the 26-year-old victim used to stay with her mother and sister in Kalyan.

In 2015, Bhandari sexually assaulted the woman, following which he was booked for rape. However, the court granted him bail and he later married the victim in April 2015, they said.

On June 9, 2015, Bhandari left the house with her in a vehicle. He later killed the woman and dumped her body in bushes. However, he informed her family members that she has left his house in a fit of anger and was on way to their place.

When she did not reach their place, her parents searched for her in vain. A missing person's complaint was registered with Kalyan police the same day. Her body was later recovered from the bushes in Yewari village in Bhiwandi in the district, the prosecutors told the court.

In his judgement, the judge said the prosecution has proved the guilt beyond any reasonable doubt.

"There is no scope to doubt non-involvement of the accused in the murder of his wife. The body of the victim was thrown in the open to cause the disappearance of evidence," the court said.

"The entire case rested on the circumstantial evidence and deposition of the witnesses proved the case beyond all reasonable doubts," the judge said.