Bhubaneswar, Dec. 5: A fast track court today sentenced a youth to life imprisonment for killing his wife for dowry.

Judge Aditya Prasad Sahu of fast track court II held Somnath Das, 25, a resident of Vani Vihar, guilty of murdering his wife, Mamata Sethi, 23, on October 5, 2010 after her parents could not fulfil his demands for a dowry of Rs 50,000.

The judge sentenced Das, an autorickshaw driver, to life under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for murder and directed him to pay a fine of Rs 2,000. In default of payment of the fine, the convict would undergo one more year of rigorous imprisonment. Besides, the court also awarded him two years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 498 (A) of the Indian Penal Code related to dowry torture and a fine of Rs 1,000. Das’s jail term will be increased six months if he fails to pay the fine here. “Both the sentences will run concurrently,” the judge ruled.

Government advocate Pradeep Kumar Dash said the accused had slit his wife’s throat with a knife on the evening of October 5, 2010 while the victim was at her parents’ house in the same locality of Vani Vihar.

“The mother of the deceased was eyewitness to the murder as she was present in the house when Das had committed the crime. Her statement was vital in this case,” said the lawyer. He said 11 prosecution witnesses and five from the defence side had given their statements during the trial.

All evidences were against Das, which helped in awarding him life term.

One of Mamata’s family members said Das used to beat up his wife and harass her for dowry. The couple had a love marriage eight months before the incident and they were staying in the same area.

After marriage, the accused had left his job and was forcing his wife to bring money to purchase a new vehicle to drive. As he was torturing the deceased, she had left for her parents’ house a few days before her death.