A court in Balasore on Friday sentenced to death a man convicted of killing his wife by throwing acid on her in February 2023.
Special judge Dr Abdul Samim Akhtar awarded the sentence under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Besides the death penalty, the court also imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on the convict.
Reports said Chandan Kumar Rana, a resident of Santragadia, had thrown acid on his wife Banita Singh and three others, including her elder sister Barsha Singh and Barsha’s two minor children, on February 20, 2023. Banita succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment.
On February 4, the court had held Chandan guilty. Six other accused in the case were acquitted.
Chandan had married Banita Singh, the younger daughter of Kartick Singh. However, within one and a half months, marital discord surfaced after Banita discovered that Chandan had already been married and had two children from that marriage. She then left her husband’s house.
Later, when the accused visited his in-laws’ house at Bhimpura on February 20, 2023, a heated altercation broke out. In a fit of rage, Chandan allegedly threw acid on the family members. Banita’s father, Kartick Singh, then lodged an FIR at Sahadevkhunta police station.
