Mumbai : The testimony of a four-and-half year-old boy helped a sessions court here this week convict his 40-year-old father, who was accused of killing his wife, and award him life imprisonment. Accused Ramesh Mourya, a resident of Wadala area, was a compulsive drinker and quarrelled often with his wife Meena.
On June 30, 2013, Ramesh stabbed his wife as she refused to fill water. His neighbours raised an alarm after they spotted him taking Meena to hospital with blood all over the floor.
Meena died before admission to the hospital. “We examined six witnesses. But it was the child’s testimony which bolstered our case,” said public prosecutor Shankar Yerende.
“After he was comforted, he deposed before the court. The next problem was administering oath. The judge first asked him if he knows what is a lie and how one should only speak truth,” he said, adding the boy gave the sequence of events and said Ramesh stabbed his mother with a kitchen knife. “He revealed the name of his father but did not identify Ramesh. This may be due to fear as he had witnessed the incident”, Yerande said.
