Balasore (Odisha) Apr 19: A local court in Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday sentenced a couple to life imprisonment for the murder of their differently abled minor child in 2022.
Additional Sessions Judge Biswajit Das delivered the verdict, ordering Ganesh Jena and his second wife Pratima Jena, residents of Chandmaripadia under Sahadevkhunta police station limits in Balasore town, to undergo life imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs 5,000 each.
Failure to pay the fine would result in an additional six months of jail time, public prosecutor Pranab Kumar Panda said.
The incident occurred in August 2022, when the child was strangled to death by his father and stepmother due to his physical challenges. His body was dumped under Nuniajodi bridge, on the outskirts of the town, Panda said.
The grandmother of the deceased filed an FIR with Sahadevkhunta police after learning about the incident.
The court convicted the couple under various sections of the IPC, including 302, 120B, 201, and 34, after examining 15 witnesses and 16 exhibits.
