A man from UP has been sentenced to life in prison by court in Uttar Pradesh on Friday. According to the police complaint, in September 2020, Pannalal brutally attacked his wife Anita, who was eight months pregnant with their sixth child, and cut her abdomen open with a sickle to find the gender of the baby.
The accused has been identified as Pannalal . The couple often fought as the man earnestly hoped wife Anita to give birth to a boy. Aware of Panna Lal's desire to have a son, Anita's family tried to convince him to not fight over the matter. But the man threatened to divorce Anita and marry another woman in a bid to fulfill his wish of having a son.
Anita somehow survived the after the brutal attack but the child had to be aborted, they said. Also the doctors later informed the family that the aborted fetus was a boy, said by the police
Based on the complaint, the police had registered an FIR against Pannalal under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 313 (causing miscarriage without women's consent) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Additional District Government Counsel (ADGC) Munendra Pal told PTI that the police filed a chargesheet against Pannalal
The matter was heard in the court of additional session judge (fast-track court) Saurabh Saxena. The court awarded life imprisonment to Pannalal and also slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on him.
According to the report, during the hearing of the case in court, Panna Lal tried to defend himself by saying that Anita had inflicted the wounds on herself. Panna Lal alleged that Anita harmed herself by filing a false case against him as he was in a property dispute with her brothers.
Meanwhile, Anita welcomed the court's decision, saying she has finally received justice after waiting for four years.
Anita also said that she will always be saddened by the thought that her son died before coming into the world but she is happy that Pannalal has been punished for his crime.
