Man gets life term for murdering wife in 2017

Kolhapur: Additional sessions judge R V Adone on Wednesday sentenced a 57-year-old man to life imprisonment for brutally murdering his wife in 2017 doubting her character.The court held the accused, Pralhad Ramchandra Awale, guilty of the offence under Section 302 of IPC. He was also asked to pay a fine of Rs10,000. He would have to serve a simple imprisonment for six months if he failed to pay the fine amount.Awale, a construction worker, has been in jail since murdering his wife. He lived at Annabhau Sathe Nagar of Kasaba Sangaon under Kagal tehsil of Kolhapur district.The accused hit her wife with a stone grinder on Sept 11, 2017, causing head injury. He then used a sickle to slit her throat.The daughters of the victim and the accused were the prime witnesses in the case. "The statements of the two daughters against their father turned out to be important for the court to hold him guilty of brutal murder. Both the daughters tried to stop their father from slitting the throat of their mother, Varsha," said Vivek Shukl, district govt prosecutor.The accused prayed for a minimum sentence and minimum fine. He submitted that he was under arrest for the past eight years and his parents were dependent on him.The court order stated, "Considering the age, nature of offence and injuries suffered, it is not a rarest of rare case to impose death penalty. Imposition of life imprisonment on the accused is adequate and proper punishment," stated the order.