A sessions court in Maharashtra's Thane district has sentenced Nazim Daud Khan, a 32-year-old autorickshaw driver, to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for attempting to murder his estranged wife in a 2021 knife attack that also injured a man who tried to rescue her, news agency PTI reported.

Source: Press Trust of India

Additional Sessions Judge V L Bhosale convicted Khan on Thursday under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code, which covers attempt to murder, and Section 324, which covers voluntarily causing hurt with dangerous weapons or means.

The 2021 attack

According to the prosecution, Khan married in 2016 and the couple has two sons. On November 29, 2021, he visited his in-laws' mattress workshop and demanded that his wife return home with him. When she refused, he left, but returned about half an hour later and attacked her with a knife.

The prosecution said Khan chased his wife, sat on her chest and stabbed her repeatedly. He also stabbed Mohammad Isak, a worker nearby, when Isak tried to intervene and save her.

The woman suffered several cut injuries in the attack, which caused 40 per cent permanent disability in both of her hands, PTI reported, citing the prosecution.

What the court held

The court said the intention behind such an attack can be determined from the nature of the weapon used, the body parts targeted, the number and force of the blows, the manner of the attack and the surrounding circumstances.

Khan was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 20,000 under Section 307. He was also sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000 under Section 324. Both sentences will run concurrently, which means his effective jail term is 10 years.