Home / Crime and Justice / Vendor gets life sentence for wife's brutal market murder
Vendor gets life sentence for wife's brutal market murder
20 Jan
Summary
- A vegetable vendor was sentenced to life for murdering his wife at their stall.
- An eyewitness statement and forensic evidence secured the conviction.
- The court declined the death penalty, citing it wasn't a 'rarest of rare' case.
A sessions court in Mumbai has sentenced a 42-year-old vegetable vendor, Shrawankumar Raut, to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of his wife, Sapna, at their family-run stall in Malad during 2024. The motive stemmed from his suspicion over her character. The court relied heavily on the consistent testimony of an eyewitness, Geetadevi Singh, the shop owner, and corroborating medical and circumstantial evidence, including the seized weapon.
Raut’s teenage daughter, initially the complainant, turned hostile, claiming goons murdered her mother. However, the court found the eyewitness testimony credible. Singh had previously attempted to mediate between the couple on the morning of May 4, 2024, after Sapna reported Raut’s assaults and attempts to bar her from their home.
Despite the prosecution arguing for capital punishment, the judge ruled that the circumstances did not meet the criteria for the "rarest of rare" category. Raut was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay a Rs 3,000 fine. The District Legal Services Authority will determine the quantum of compensation for the couple's three children, considering the family's financial instability.
