Man gets life for killing live-in partner for not bearing child

“Most tragically,her pleas fell on deaf ears and were never taken seriously even by local police… Head Constable Giri Raj,to whom her complaint was marked,conveniently slept over the same on the grounds that it was a dispute between a husband and wife. I am convinced that a timely intervention would have saved her life,” Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau observed while reporting the “dereliction and non-performance of duty” to the Commissioner of Police.

The murder took place in August last year at the couple’s house in Sultanpuri.

The matter was reported by the couple’s landlord who had told the court that the couple used to have frequent quarrels over not having children.

According to the testimony of the landlord,on the day of the murder,Rajesh had asked him to call police and handed over the knife he had used to stab Manju.

When police apprehended Rajesh,he said he had killed Manju “since he was insisting his wife have a child,but she was not ready and was denying on one pretext or the other”.

According to police,Manju was earlier married to Pappu who used to beat her. She left him and entered into a live-in relationship with Rajesh,a white washer.

After she moved in with Rajesh,Manju’s family disowned her due to caste issues.

The couple had been together for 10-12 years and had shifted to the house in Sultanpuri just 4-5 months before the incident.

According to the prosecution,there were frequent quarrels between the two over not having children. Rajesh wanted a child and felt that Manju was deliberately avoiding conceiving.

On August 28,2012,Rajesh,in a fit of rage,stabbed Manju to death. According to medical records,Manju was stabbed eight times in vital areas.

The prosecution had asked the court for a death penalty.

However,the court awarded him life imprisonment based on the fact that he was not guilty of previous criminal conduct and after the murder,did not run away and handed over the murder weapon.

While awarding the punishment,Judge Lau referred to the case as “a tragic end to a love relationship” .