PUNE, Jan 1: Additional Sessions Judge S S Jagirdar has sentenced Subash Santu Pathak, 30, a rickshaw driver residing in the Pune Municipal Corporation colony at Wakdewadi, to three years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 for ill-treating his wife and abetting in her suicide.According to the prosecution, Pathak married Archana in May 1995 and had been ill-treating her ever since for not begetting children. Pathak had also been forcing his wife to get Rs 10,000 from her parents for buying a new rickshaw.On November 13, 1997, 26-year-old Archana poured kerosene and set herself on fire. She succumbed to burns at Sassoon Hospital on December 1, 1997. According to Additional Public Prosecutor Raghunath Birje, who appeared on behalf of the State, a complaint was filed by the deceased's mother and the court examined her dying declaration before delivering the sentence.Bank break-in Attempt:Unindentified thieves tried to break into the State Bank of India's Chinchwad station branch on Thursday night. The thieves entered the bank by removing the air-conditioning unit installed in the wall. The thieves however could not reach up to the strong room. The Nigdi police are investigating.
