Beed: Court Awards Life To Five Family Members In 2016 Dowry Death Case

Beed: In a landmark judgment addressing the brutality of dowry-related crimes, Principal District and Sessions Judge Anand L Yawalkar has sentenced five members of a family to life imprisonment for the murder of a 20-year-old woman.

The court found the accused guilty of setting the victim on fire and throwing her into a well while she was still breathing to conceal the crime.

The convicts have been identified as Eknath Chandrabhan Kurhade (husband), Chandrabhan Dasu Kurhade (father-in-law), Phulabai Chandrabhan Kurhade (mother-in-law), Shankar Bandu Kurhade and Gangubai Shankar Kurhade (cousins-in-law).

The prosecution’s case dates back to July 2016 in Georai tehsil. The victim, Sangita Eknath Kurhade, was systematically harassed, starved and physically assaulted by her in-laws, who demanded ₹2 lakh from her parents to purchase a tractor.

According to the investigation, the torture reached a breaking point on July 10, 2016. Driven to despair, Sangita set herself ablaze. However, rather than seeking medical help, the accused conspired to eliminate all evidence. While Sangita was still alive and suffering from severe burn injuries, the accused wrapped her in a heavy quilt and threw her into a well in the Ganesh Nagar area of Umapur in Georai tehsil.

The Chaklamba Police initially registered the case under Sections 302 (murder), 304-B (dowry death), 201 (destruction of evidence) and 498-A (cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code.

During the trial, Assistant Government Pleader Adv Ajay Shrimantrao Tandale examined 12 witnesses. The court placed significant weight on the circumstantial evidence, medical reports and the testimony of the investigating officers.

Delivering the judgment, Judge Yawalkar observed the gravity of the offence and sentenced all five accused to life imprisonment. A fine of ₹1,000 each has also been imposed, with an additional six months of rigorous imprisonment in case of default.