Berhampur: A local court in Berhampur Tuesday sentenced a man and his second wife to 10 years in prison for the murder of their minor daughter.
Additional District Judge-III Bibaswat Gautam convicted A Dibakar (36) and his wife S Tapeya (32), holding them guilty of killing the six-year-old girl. The court pronounced the sentence after concluding the trial in the case.
According to the prosecution, Dibakar of Tentulia Sahi had married K Shashi, daughter of K Bhima of Digapahandi, in 2015 under Hindu rites. The couple had a daughter. Shashi died in 2020, after which Dibakar married Tapeya.
After the second marriage, the child, identified as K Tapaswi, was allegedly subjected to physical abuse by her stepmother, in which Dibakar was allegedly complicit as well, police said.
The child was found dead inside the house on February 28, 2022. Bhima, the father of Dibakar’s first wife Shashi, visited his house and enquired about his granddaughter. However, Dibakar failed to give any satisfactory reply, following which Bhima lodged a complaint at Digapahandi police station alleging that Dibakar and Tapeya had beaten the child to death.
Police registered case 92/22, sent the body for postmortem and seized a bloodstained stick from the spot. Both the accused were arrested and later chargesheeted by the then investigating officer, Inspector Deepti Ranjan Behera.
During the trial, the court recorded statements of 26 witnesses. The accused duo was produced in court at the time of pronouncement of the verdict.
