Man, wife get life term for killing child

SATURDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2011, SANA SHAKIL | NEW DELHI

A harmless argument between two five-year olds deteriorated into a fatal act of retribution with parents of one of the children being awarded life imprisonment, after the couple was proved guilty of murdering a little girl, by a city court. The couple, in a fit of rage after their tiny tots had a quarrel, set alight their jhuggi in Jahangirpuri area of the capital which led to the death of five-year old Tamanna. Tamanna’s parents and three other siblings escaped the fire with non-life threatening burns but Tamanna was consumed by the flames.

The root cause of the gruesome crime was a petty quarrel which had taken place between Aman (Tamanna’s brother) and Ravi and Kundan, sons of the convicted couple. On the fateful evening on February 8, 2009, after the children had an argument, Tamanna’s father Firangi sat with the quarelling children, gave them some counselling and put matters to rest. Ravi and Kundan’s mother Guddi, and her husband Kamal got annoyed with the situation and threatened Firangi with dire consequences. Threatening to burn down their jhuggi, Guddi told Firangi, “Ab toh tum bach gaye, jao aaj raat ko tumhein dekh loongi, tumhari jhuggi ko aag laga doongi.”

According to prosecution witnesses present at the spot, which included the neighbours, Guddi refused to heed to numerous suggestions to calm down and called the cops.

Relatives of the deceased told the cops that it was just a quarrel between the two children, after which the cops left.

Tamanna’s uncle Mukesh told the court that on February 9, 2009 when he went outside to answer nature’s call at around 4 am in the morning, he saw Kamal and Guddi standing outside their jhuggi with a bottle of kerosene in hand and sprinkling the same all over the jhuggi.

As Mukesh rushed to stop them from setting alight their home, Guddi immediately lit a match which engulfed the jhuggi and resulted in the death of the little girl.

Mukesh raised an alarm and with the help of the neighbours they tried to save all the family members, but unfortunately not Tamanna. They rushed her to BJRM Hospital, where the doctors declared her ‘brought dead’.

In the course of investigations, police recovered two two-litre bottles of kerosene in the jhuggi of the convicted couple with remnants of kerosene still present. Tarun Khurana, witness in the case, who was working in an MCD Park nearby said in his statement that he saw accused Kamal running out of the lane of the victim’s jhuggi. Furthermore, in his statement Tarun said that on that day he saw Kamal taking tea near A-1 Market, Jahangirpuri at 4.10 am.

After finishing his tea he got up and left and soon after there were flames coming from the A-1 jhuggis. While convicting the accused of murder charges, Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Dudeja said “I have no reason to disbelieve the testimony of Mukesh (Firangi’s brother) who has been able to prove that it was accused Kamal who had sprinkled kerosene on the jhuggi of Firangi and it was accused Guddi who had set the jhuggi on fire resulting in the death of a small child. I therefore hold both the accused guilty and convict them under Sections 302/436/34 IPC. Considering the totality of facts, the accused are sentenced with imprisonment and a fine of 5,000.”

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