Man gets life sentence for wife's murder

The Thane district court has sentenced a 44-year-old man to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife in 2016.Judge Dr Rachna R Tehra, in her judgement delivered on June 23, also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on the accused Chintaman Raghu Baraf, a resident of Gauthanpada in Vikramgad tehsil of the neighbouring Palghar district.

The Thane district court has sentenced a 44-year-old man to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife in 2016.

Judge Dr Rachna R Tehra, in her judgement delivered on June 23, also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on the accused Chintaman Raghu Baraf, a resident of Gauthanpada in Vikramgad tehsil of the neighbouring Palghar district. The copy of the order was made available on Wednesday. The prosecution proved all the charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubt, the judge said. According to Additional Public Prosecutor E B Dhamal and S H Mhatre, the accused, a farmer, used to suspect the character of his wife Bhimi.

He also demanded money from her for liquor and beat her up if she refused, the prosecution said.

On September 6, 2016, following a quarrel a day before, he axed his wife to death, it said. The court convicted Baraf under IPC section 302 (murder). Defence lawyer A B Sharma argued for a minimum punishment, saying that the accused was already in jail for five years and has two children.

The court held that it was not a `rarest of rare' case, hence a life sentence should be awarded.