Mumbai: The sessions court in Dindoshi has sentenced a 35-year-old man to life imprisonment for killing his estranged wife with a hammer in February 2017. The man suspected the deceased, and their relationship became strained after the accused turned aggressive and violent.
According to the case registered with Versova police station, accused Suraj Poojari got married to Priti after they fell in love. The couple had a one-and-a-half-year-old son at the time of the incident. Initially, they resided at Priti's house, but a year before the incident, Priti's family asked Suraj to move out due to his violent behaviour and alcoholism.
Feb 2017 incident
The incident occurred on February 10, 2017. The accused entered Priti's house around 6:30 pm and started quarrelling with her. The argument escalated, and the accused began hitting Priti with a hammer while she screamed for help. Neighbors heard Priti's cries and tried to intervene, but Suraj did not stop. He eventually left the house, and two neighbors took Priti to the hospital. Sadly, Priti succumbed to her head injuries the following day.
Initially, Suraj denied assaulting his wife. Later, he claimed that he had gone to meet Priti to convince her to live with him and asked her to shift. During their conversation, Priti questioned the paternity of their child, which angered Suraj. He claimed not to remember what happened next and only recalled being locked up in the police station for assaulting his wife. The defense argued that he could not be charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Harassment and suspicion by accused on his wife
Based on the evidence presented by the prosecution, the court noted that Priti had moved to her mother's home during her seventh month of pregnancy and continued to stay there, leading to frequent quarrels between the couple due to Suraj's suspicions about her character. The court also highlighted Suraj's invasion of his wife's privacy by impersonating her and contacting her friends, showing his jealousy and consistent harassment. Witnesses testified that Suraj confronted one of Priti's friends, causing the friend to stop interacting with her.
The court cited an eyewitness's testimony stating that Suraj was generally a good person but emphasised that this could not excuse his actions. The judge stated that Suraj's consistent harassment and suspicion of Priti's character, leading to her death, demonstrated cruelty and mental harassment, ultimately resulting in her tragic demise.
In the end, the judge held Suraj guilty of murdering his wife, stating that he had attacked her repeatedly with an iron hammer, causing her death.
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