Odisha court sentences man to death for killing wife for giving birth to second girl child

A court in Odisha's capital Bhubaneswar sentenced a man to death for fatally stabbing his wife and attempting to murder his six-year-old daughter by slitting her throat two years ago.

On June 9, 2022, the convict, 46-year-old Sanjeet Dash, stabbed his wife Saraswati, who was a head nurse at a private hospital, 33 times at their residence in Ghatikia area of Bhubaneswar just a few days after she gave birth to their second daughter, according to the prosecution.

He also slit the throat of his first daughter, who was six years old, but she survived. He was arrested the next day and a charge-sheet was filed in October, 2022.

The court of Second Additional Sessions Judge, Bhubaneswar, Bandana Kar, while pronouncing the judgment on Thursday, categorised the crime as "rarest of rare" and said, "No leniency thus should be shown to the convict... Hence, this court awards death sentence to the convict. He is to be hanged by the neck till his death subject to confirmation from the Hon'ble High Court of Orissa, Cuttack."

The motive behind the killing of his wife is the birth of the second girl child and that was the reason for which the accused attempted to commit the murder of his first daughter as well, the court said.

Imposing the death penalty, therefore, for such "rarest of the rare crime" would serve as a deterrent to others who might contemplate similar heinous acts, it said.

The court has also awarded life imprisonment to Dash. Both sentences will run concurrently subject to modification, commutation, remission or pardon granted to the convict.

While giving its observations on the trauma faced by the six-year-old girl, the court said, "The child, whom the Indian system of law doesn't even permit to watch such monstrosity in films, would have had to live it on her own eyes."

"The little girl of six, who would have would proudly sung 'Vande Mataram', had her larynx brutally cut open by her own father, the girl who would perhaps relish little pleasures of watching 'Chhota Bheem' and 'Doraemon' had to rather witness the ghastly killing of her mother by her father," it observed.

One cannot but take cognisance of the profound ordeal of the child victim who had to witness the murder of her own mother by her father. Her home, which was her safe haven, has now become a scene of unimaginable horror, shattering her sense of security and trust, the court added.

The court also directed that a copy of the judgment be provided to the District Legal Services Authority (DSLA), Khurda for considering compensation for the minor daughters of the deceased.