Bhubaneswar, Feb 13 (IANS) A court in Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday sentenced a man to death for killing his second wife in an acid attack.

The convict, identified as Chandan Kumar Rana, is a resident of Santaragadia village under Nilgiri police station area of Balasore district.

“The accused, Rana, was already married before marrying the victim, Banita Singh of Bhimpura village under Sahadevkhunta police limits in the same district, and has two children from his first marriage. Despite this, he trapped the victim and lured her into a relationship without informing her about his existing marriage,” informed Special Public Prosecutor Sulalit Kar.

Kar further informed that the convict married the victim in a temple at Nuagaon of the Balasore district on December 19, 2022. After the passage of a few days, the victim, Banita, received the shocking information about the previous marriage of Rana from some sources. Later, she lodged an FIR at the Sahadevkhunta police station in January 2023, alleging that Rana cheated her by concealing his first marriage.

Following police intervention, both the victim and the accused, in the presence of their family members, reached an agreement that they were no longer a couple and would stay at their respective parental homes.

Meanwhile, the victim’s marriage was fixed with another man by her family members. On February 20, 2023, after hearing the news, an enraged Rana reached Banita’s house carrying a bottle of acid and engaged in an altercation with the victim, threatening her not to proceed with the marriage. He later threw the acid at Banita, who sustained serious burn injuries.

The victim’s sister and her two children present in the house, were also seriously injured in the acid attack. They were immediately rushed to the District headquarters hospital in Balasore by the locals. The doctors later referred Banita, whose condition deteriorated rapidly, to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. She later succumbed to her burn injuries while undergoing treatment there on February 26, 2023.

Based on the dying declaration of the victim given to police at the hospital, statements of witnesses and other exhibits, the court on Friday convicted Rana of the crime and awarded him death sentence, terming as a rarest crime.

–IANS

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