Ghaziabad: A man was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his wife and torturing her over dowry in a case dating back 14 years after his wife’s dying testimony proved to be key evidence in court. The court, however, acquitted his brother and sister, finding that their culpability was not established. The accused’s parents, also named in the original FIR, had died in the course of the court proceedings.Gulshan, a resident of Sherpur Khichra, was sentenced to a life term in prison with a fine of Rs 10,000 after being declared guilty u/s 302 IPC, and to an additional term of three years with a fine of Rs 2,000 u/s 498A of the IPC.Judge Jeetendra Mishra said that a perusal of the file reveals that the case does not fall within the category of the rarest of the rare. “Therefore, having considered all the facts and circumstances of the case, including the nature of the crime committed, the circumstances of the crime, the social impact of the crime, and the impact on the victim, the court finds it justified to sentence Gulshan to a life term in prison instead of capital punishment,” he said while acquitting his brother Monu and sister Asma of all the charges levelled against them.Gulshan married his wife Nasreen on May 15, 2011. Less than a year later, on March 26, 2012, Nasreen’s brother Mohammad Shamshad filed a police complaint alleging that Gulshan and his family began abusing her and demanding dowry soon after the wedding. They allegedly demanded Rs 1 lakh and a motorcycle. Shamshad said he managed to give them Rs 50,000, but it did not help the situation. On March 25, 2012, Gulshan and others allegedly set Nasreen on fire.“They attempted to burn Nasreen to death. She is now battling for life in the ICU ward of Safdarjung Hospital. So a case must be registered against Gulshan and his family members,” Shamshad said in his complaint.An FIR was registered against the accused Gulshan, Sagir, Zarina, Aasma and Monu under Section 498-A, 307 IPC and Section 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. Nasreen recorded a statement at the hospital but later died during treatment on April 1. Police then included section 304B (dowry killing) with alternative IPC section 302 read with IPC section 34 in the FIR.Police filed two separate chargesheets which were later clubbed by the sessions court during the hearing. The sessions court framed charges against Gulshan, Sagir and Monu on Sept 27, 2012, and against Zarina and Asma on April 1, 2014. All the accused denied the charges and stated that they never demanded dowry or tortured her and claimed that Nasreen was mentally unwell and died by suicide.The prosecution presented 12 witnesses, including family members and a doctor who conducted the autopsy, while the defence came up with two witnesses to claim that the dying declaration was fabricated and there was no mention of dowry in Nasreen’s statement.Having heard the arguments of both sides and the testimony of the witnesses, the court said that Nasreen herself has made clear and specific statements against Gulshan.“In the statement, the woman does not name the accused, Zarina and Asma, and only describes Monu and Sagir’s role as inactive. In her earlier statements to the doctor, she only accused her husband. Therefore, there is complete uniformity and consistency in her statement regarding the allegation against her husband,” the court noted.The judge also noted that Nasreen’s hair testing negative for kerosene in the report does not adversely impact the prosecution’s case, especially since her dying declaration was found to be credible compared to that of the accused.“The absence of poison in the viscera report indicates that the victim did not commit suicide by consuming any toxic substance. The case is of her husband burning her to death, not the use of poison. Thus, from the above analysis, it is clear that the prosecution has succeeded in proving beyond reasonable doubt the charge of murder against accused Gulshan,” the court concluded.
