Srinagar, Oct 15 (KNS): More than four years after a woman was found dead under suspicious circumstances at her matrimonial home in Bemina, a Srinagar court has convicted her husband, mother-in-law and brother-in-law of murder and criminal conspiracy, holding that the medical evidence and circumstances surrounding her death established their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Additional Sessions Judge Srinagar Farooq Ahmad Bhat, in a 92-page judgment delivered on October 13, convicted Shahnawaz Ahmad Dar, his mother Hafeeza Begum and brother Parveez Ahmad Dar alias Bilal under Sections 302 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The court acquitted two other accused, Sumiya and Saika, giving them the benefit of doubt.

The case relates to the death of Tasleema, who was found dead on June 27, 2022, at her matrimonial home in Nund-Reshi Colony, Bemina.

According to the judgment, Tasleema married Shahnawaz in 2013. Their relationship remained cordial for about a year and a half before disputes began over her inability to conceive.

The court recorded evidence that she was subjected to harassment and physical abuse by members of her matrimonial family, leading to repeated attempts by relatives and community elders to resolve the disputes.

At one stage, Tasleema returned to her parental home, where she remained for more than two years before a settlement was reached.

Under the arrangement, she returned to her matrimonial home and began living separately with her husband in a room on the upper floor of the same building.

However, the court found that the resentment held against her by the three convicted persons had not ended.

The judgment records that her husband had earlier expressed his intention to divorce her because the couple had no children.

On June 27, 2022, Tasleema spoke to her relatives over the telephone in the morning. Later that afternoon, her family received information that she had fallen ill and had been taken to JVC Hospital in Bemina.

Her relatives subsequently learned that she had died.

The circumstances raised suspicion, and police initiated proceedings to establish the cause of death.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

The post-mortem examination established that Tasleema had died from asphyxia caused by smothering.

Medical evidence also revealed injuries on different parts of her body, contradicting the defence claim that she had died naturally.

During the trial, the accused maintained that Tasleema suffered from a heart-related ailment and that her death was not the result of violence.

The court rejected this explanation, observing that no medical record had been produced to support the claim of a cardiac illness causing her death.

The judgment also examined the defence claims that Shahnawaz and Parveez were away from the house when the incident occurred.

The court found that these claims had not been established through supporting evidence.

It held that the prosecution had presented a complete chain of circumstantial evidence, including the medical findings, earlier matrimonial disputes, the conduct of the accused and their failure to satisfactorily explain the death.

The court observed that crimes committed within matrimonial homes often take place without independent witnesses, making circumstantial and medical evidence particularly important.

It said courts must approach such cases realistically without allowing serious offences to go unpunished merely because of minor procedural shortcomings.

The court further held that the conduct of the three convicted persons and the surrounding circumstances established criminal conspiracy, even in the absence of direct evidence of an agreement to commit murder.

However, the prosecution failed to establish the charge of destruction of evidence under Section 201 IPC.

The court also found insufficient evidence to convict Sumiya and Saika and acquitted them of the charges.

Following the verdict, Hafeeza Begum, who had been on bail, was taken into custody and ordered to be lodged at Central Jail Srinagar.

The court directed that the three convicted persons be produced for a hearing on the quantum of punishment on October 14.(KNS)