The Mahila Court here on Wednesday sentenced a man to seven years imprisonment for abetting the suicide of his wife Sumathi in April 2011. The accused S. Senthil Kumar alias Gunasekaran (38), of Kodankipalayam near Kinathukadavu, had married Sumathi in 1996 and they had two sons Soundar (11) and Pranesh (10) when the incident took place.
About 10 days before Sumathi died, Senthil had married another woman without divorcing Sumathi. It is learnt that Sumathi had an argument with her husband in this regard and that Senthil had asked her to die.
Public Prosecutor of the Mahila Court R. Sarojini said that upset over the issue, Sumathi set herself ablaze on April 22, 2011. She died the next day. Based on a declaration she gave to a judge before her death, Kinathukadavu Police registered a case against Senthil.
Mahila Court judge M.P. Subramanian in his verdict on Wednesday sentenced the man to seven years imprisonment and also slapped a fine of Rs. 10,000 on him. The man was lodged in the Coimbatore Central Prison.
