Rajkot: A sessions court in Junagadh has sentenced two Bhavnagar men to 10 years’ imprisonment for conspiring to murder a woman and attacking her with a knife after she refused to maintain a relationship with one of them.Principal district judge B G Dave convicted Ashwin Solanki, 30, and Usmangani Bhadula, 23, under Sections 109(1) (attempt to murder), read with Sections 54, and 61(2)(a) (criminal conspiracy) of the BNS.The court sentenced each convict to 10 years’ simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3,000 for attempted murder.The attack occurred in the Madhuram area of Junagadh on May 15, 2025. The 40-year-old complainant had previously worked with Solanki at a submersible pump manufacturing unit in Shapar-Veraval in Rajkot district. The two were in a relationship, but she later moved to Junagadh with her family and refused to continue it, the prosecution said.According to the woman’s testimony, she was returning home after buying buttermilk around 1.30pm when Solanki and Bhadula approached her on a motorcycle. Solanki was riding the vehicle while Bhadula, who was seated behind him, was carrying a knife.The court recorded that Bhadula stabbed the woman three times — in the waist, chest and abdomen — while Solanki instigated him to kill her. The woman managed to run home, after which relatives took her to a hospital.The treating doctor testified that the three wounds could have endangered her life. The court held that the number of strikes, parts of the body targeted, the weapon used and the planning established an intention to kill, even though the injuries were also described as simple during cross-examination.The prosecution also relied on a witness who testified about Solanki’s earlier efforts to recruit people to attack the woman in return for money. A register from a Junagadh hotel showed that Solanki checked in on May 14, a day before the attack, and left at 6am on May 15. The woman identified Bhadula during an identification parade and again in court.The defence argued that no weapon was recovered, independent eyewitnesses were not examined, CCTV footage did not capture the attack and several panch witnesses did not support the prosecution. The court, however, held that these shortcomings were not sufficient to discredit the injured woman’s testimony, which was supported by medical and other evidence.
