Court Sentences Man To Life Imprisonment For Wife’s Murder In Odisha’s Berhampur

Berhampur: The Additional District and Sessions Judge Court in Berhampur of Odisha’s Ganjam district on Wednesday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife.

As per the case, the convict, Simanchal Mishra, belonging to Panchasinghapur Sasan under Dharakote police limits in the district, had married to Laxmi Priya from Harekrushnapur under Sheragad police limits around 28 years back. They were staying in a rented house near Ashoka cinema hall under Aska police limits.

Their elder son Sridhar works in the Indian Army and younger son Subham is a student.

The couple used to quarrel over Simanchal’s drinking habit. Though their son Sridhar was sending money to meet the household expenses, Simanchal spent most of it on liquor and demanded more money from Laxmi. Whenever she did not relent to his demand, he was beating her.

On October 9, 2023, Simanchal came home in an inebriated condition and demanded money from his wife. As Laxmi did not give it, an altercation ensued. In a fit of rage, Simanchal hit her with a weapon leading to her death.

Subham filed a complaint against his father at Aska police station following the murder and Simanchal was arrested. Following investigation, police filed the chargesheet in the court.

After hearing the witnesses and verifying the evidence, the court convicted Simanchal and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on him and ordered rigorous imprisonment (RI) for four months in case of default in payment of fine.