Pune, Oct 26: A Pune sessions court has sentenced 45-year-old Somnath Sadhu Sapkal to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for attempting to murder his wife by feeding her capsules containing pieces of a blade under the pretext of giving her medicine, Hindustan Times reported via LatestLY.

Source: Hindustan Times via LatestLY

In the October 23 order, which was made available on Monday, Additional Sessions Judge Aniruddha Sulabha Subhash Gandhi also sentenced Sapkal to three years of rigorous imprisonment for cruelty, with both sentences to run concurrently. He was convicted under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 498A (cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code, with fines of Rs 50,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively, and given set-off for time already spent in custody.

Source: Hindustan Times via LatestLY

The case arose from a complaint by Sapkal's wife, Chhaya, who alleged that he had been giving her the capsules between October 2023 and November 8, 2023. Uttamnagar police registered an FIR on November 14, 2023. According to the prosecution, she experienced stomach pain in October 2023 and noticed a blade piece passing through her stool, and on November 8 she was taken to hospital with severe abdominal pain, where doctors removed a blade piece from her stomach through an endoscopic procedure.

Source: Hindustan Times via LatestLY

7 yearsRigorous imprisonment under Section 307, attempt to murder
3 yearsRigorous imprisonment under Section 498A, cruelty — to run concurrently
Rs 50,000 + Rs 20,000Fines imposed under the two sections

The prosecution examined seven witnesses, including the complainant, her son, the treating doctor, a medical shop owner, panch witnesses and the investigating officer. Although the complainant and her son did not fully support the prosecution during the trial, the court relied on medical evidence, the recovery of blade pieces and capsules from the accused's residence, and other testimony. Medical shop owner Ganesh Chaudhary testified that Sapkal had purchased a packet of Almox 500 capsules from him, and police had seized the packet and two steel blade pieces from a divan at the residence, the court noted.

Source: Hindustan Times via LatestLY

The judge said the court had itself examined the seized articles and found that blade pieces could be bent and placed inside the capsules. Dr Poonam Mantri, who treated the complainant, testified that the blade piece in her stomach posed a danger to her life and she could have died, the judge observed. The court acquitted Sapkal of the separate charges under Sections 323 and 504 for insufficient evidence, and, after hearing the defence that he was the family's sole earning member, opted for fixed terms instead of life imprisonment.

Source: Hindustan Times via LatestLY