BALASORE: A special court in Balasore on Friday awarded life imprisonment to a couple for allegedly killing their 14-year-old physically-challenged son in 2022.
Judge Biswajit Das convicted Ganesh Jena (45) and his second wife Pratima Jena (36) alias Puja of Chandamari Padiya. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each, failing which they will undergo an additional jail term of six months.
Public prosecutor Pranab Kumar Panda said police arrested the couple for killing the child on August 4, 2022, and throwing his body in a pond. The incident came to light when the grandparents of the victim, who lived in a separate rented house, found their grandson missing at home. The minor used to stay with his father and stepmother, near his grandparent's house.
Later, police investigated the matter after the deceased’s grandmother, Shantilata Jena filed a complaint at the local police station on August 5, 2022. Investigation revealed that the accused couple committed the crime of their son for being unable to take care of himself and being dependent on them.
Sahadevkhunta police had registered cases against the couple under section 302 of the IPC. Following a thorough examination of 16 witnesses and 16 documents, the sentence was pronounced to the couple, Panda said.