BHUBANESWAR: A local court here on Saturday pronounced former Gunupur MLA Ram Murty Gomango guilty of killing his wife in the state capital way back in 1995.Special judge of Third ADJ-cum-Special Court MP/MLA will pronounce the judgement and the punishment on June 27, said special public prosecutor Rashmi Ranjan Brahma.
On August 29, 1995, Gomango had informed the city police that his wife Sashirekha died by suicide inside the bathroom of his quarter in MLA Colony here.Police registered a case of unnatural death and launched an inquiry into the matter. During investigation, it was established that Gomango had killed his wife following which a sub-inspector lodged a complaint against the former MLA with Kharavela Nagar police station.
Around 11 witnesses and 15 documents were examined during the trial. The prosecution succeeded in proving that Gomango committed the murder of his wife though he attempted to portray it as a case of suicide by claiming she set herself ablaze by pouring kerosene over her body. “The postmortem report of the victim suggested her death was not accidental and it was ante-mortem in nature. She had suffered from subdural haematoma (severe head injury),” said Brahma.
One of the witnesses present in Gomango’s quarter on the day of the incident said he had seen the victim while she entered into the bathroom and she was not carrying any kerosene bottle with her. The victim was most likely hit by her husband on her head. Later Gomango set her on fire possibly after a heated exchange of words.Sashirekha was four-months pregnant when she was killed by her husband, said Brahma.