Cachar Court Hands Life Sentence to Husband for Murdering His Wife

A Fast Track Court in Cachar has sentenced Subhash Paul to life imprisonment for killing his wife six years ago. The verdict was delivered on Friday (November 21) by Additional Sessions Judge (Fast Track Court) Bankim Sharma, who held the accused, Subhash Paul, guilty under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

Subhash Paul, an auto-rickshaw driver and a resident of Larsingpar Part VIII of Dudhpati near Silchar, has also been fined Rs. 20,000. In case of default, he will have to undergo an additional six months of imprisonment.

Paul married Alpana Singh on June 21, 2018. Alpana hailed from Polarpar under Panchgram Police Station in Hailakandi district. Less than a year later, in March 2019, Alpana was found dead under suspicious circumstances at her marital home.

Following her death, Alpana’s father, Aadar Moni Singh, lodged an FIR at the Malugram Police Outpost in Silchar. He named his son-in-law, Subhash Paul, along with Paul’s two brothers – Debu Paul and Sekhar Paul – and sister-in-law (Debu’s wife) Swapna Paul, accusing them of torturing Alpana over dowry demands.

According to the FIR, soon after the marriage, Subhash, allegedly under the instigation of his brothers and sister-in-law, demanded Rs. 1 lakh as dowry. Alpana was subjected to continuous physical and mental harassment, the FIR states.

Alarmed by his daughter’s plight, Aadar Moni Singh and other family members visited Alpana’s in-laws’ house, requesting them to stop the abuse. However, their plea reportedly had no effect, and the torture allegedly continued.

On March 1, 2019, the family received a phone call from Debu Paul informing them of Alpana’s death. Rushing to the house in Dudhpati, they found Alpana’s room locked from the outside. Police from Malugram Outpost were called, and after breaking the lock, they discovered Alpana’s body lying on the bed with marks around her neck.

Suspecting that she had been strangled to death, Alpana’s father demanded an investigation. Based on the FIR, the police registered a case and arrested Subhash Paul.

Following a detailed investigation, police filed a charge sheet naming only Subhash Paul as the accused. The brothers and sister-in-law initially named in the FIR were not included in the final charge sheet.

After examining all the evidence and witness statements, the court found Subhash Paul guilty of murdering his wife. The Additional Sessions Judge then awarded him life imprisonment along with a monetary fine.