Man convicted for wife’s death

Mangaluru: First additional district and sessions judge HS Mallikarjuna Swamy HS convicted Johnson KM, a farmer and labourer from Neriya in Belthangady on Thursday, for the death of his wife. The hearing on the sentence will be held on Friday.Providing details of the case, public prosecutor Judith OM Crasta said that the incident took place on January 7, 2021, between 7.30 pm and 8.30 pm, in the convict’s house. The deceased is Sowmya Francis,36, wife of Johnson. Johnson allegedly assaulted the victim with a club for a trivial reason. She sustained injuries and fell unconscious. After some time, when she was taken to a hospital, she was declared dead on arrival. A case was filed based on a complaint filed by Sanoj Francis, the brother of the victim. He alleged that his sister was being ill-treated, and that a compromise between the couple was also made in the church. The court examined 23 witnesses and marked 40 documents. The postmortem report stated that the victim had sustained 22 injuries, of which eight injuries were fresh. Meanwhile, the daughter of the couple, who is residing with the parents of Johnson, turned hostile. The court convicted Johnson based on circumstantial evidence, witnesses and doctor’s evidence. The court convicted the accused under IPC Section 498 (a) (cruelty) and 304 Part 2 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).