THANE: A 30-year-old man, found guilty of killing his pregnant wife in 2012, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court here.
Thane Principal District Judge S K Kotwal, while pronouncing the verdict yesterday, relied on the deposition of the victim's father and circumstantial evidence against accused Ajay Atmaram Jadhav alias Mohammad Mustafa Shaikh.
Additional Public Prosecutor Sangeeta Fadh said in her submission that the accused was married to one Yaseem Mohammad Mustafa Shaikh (19).
It was a love marriage and Ajay had converted to Islam, the court was told.
According to prosecution, the accused was unemployed and used to beat his wife after coming home heavily drunk, following which she complained about this to her parents who were also staying nearby.
It was on December 16, 2012 when the couple entered into an argument over his employment that he started assaulting his wife and later strangulated her to death.
The next morning, the parents of the victim got a message that the victim was lying dead in the house.
The accused was arrested and tried under section 302 (murder) of IPC.