Children's testimonies nail man for murdering wife

New Delhi: Testimonies of two minor children nailed the fate of a man, with a Delhi court convicting him for killing his wife as he suspected her fidelity.

Besides the deposition of the man’s son and daughter, the court also relied on the DNA report and the convict’s conduct of absconding after committing the crime.

The court, which is yet to pronounce its order on the quantum of sentence, held Delhi resident Bhupender, a property dealer, guilty of murdering his wife by strangulating her with a shoe lace.

The offence of murder entails a maximum and minimum punishment of death sentence and life term respectively.

The court noted that the man’s son and one of the three daughters, who were made witnesses, deposed that their father used to quarrel with their mother as he suspected her of having an illicit relationship.

The two children also deposed before the court that their father, after dropping them at a function venue, went home to pick up their mother but did not return. Bhupender and his wife were married for 16 years.

“Both the witnesses (children) are consistent on this point and their testimony has gone unchallenged and uncontroverted... They are the real son and daughter of the accused and the deceased and they have no reason to depose falsely against their own father and in my opinion so far as motive is concerned, that stands established,” additional sessions judge Virender Kumar Bansal said.

The version of the children was also corroborated with the testimony of their landlord who deposed on the same lines.

“I am of the opinion that the onus which was on the prosecution has been fully discharged and it is established that it is the accused, who killed his wife due to suspicion of having illicit relations,” the judge said.

According to the prosecution, on January 26, 2015 Bhupender dropped his children to a place to attend the Republic Day celebrations and came home on the pretext of bringing his wife for the programme.

He, however, did not go back and strangulated his wife with a shoe lace at their rented house in Swaroop Nagar in north Delhi and fled from the spot, police said.

When the children came home, they found their mother dead and police was informed.

During the trial, the man claimed false implication and said he was in office when his wife was murdered.

The court, however, said it was clear that Bhupender arranged the situation so that none of the children were available at home and he could execute his plan.