Domestic violence case: Navy officer’s wife convicted for husband’s murder in Goa

The husband was an aircraft handler at the Naval airbase residing at the Navy headquarters in Goa, hailed from Uttar Pradesh but was posted in Goa

The South Goa District Court convicted Sandhya Ramesh, the wife of an Indian Navy officer, for the murder of her husband in 2019 and sentenced her to life imprisonment.

The police built a case, that the victim and the accused used to have regular fights over his alcohol habits. (File photo)

“The accused is convicted under section 302 of the IPC and sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of ₹50,000 and in default to undergo imprisonment of six months,” Judge Ram S Prabhudessai said.

Ramesh, who was 32 at the time of the incident, was arrested for the alleged murder of her husband Kaushalendra Pratap Singh, a navy sailor posted at the INS Hansa Naval base, who was struck on his head with a wooden club on June 2, 2019.

According to the prosecution, on the night of the incident, which was a Saturday, Singh returned home intoxicated leading to a heated argument with his wife over his “drinking problem”. During the fight which turned violent he knocked over the air cooler, toppled a cupboard, destroyed things around the house and hit her with a piece of wood.

Later, when he was asleep, she took the same piece and hit him on the head. The attack left him with 12 to 14 deep cuts on his head. Noticing him motionless and bleeding profusely, she alerted neighbours who rushed him to hospital, where he was declared dead.

Singh, an aircraft handler at the Naval airbase residing at the Navy headquarters in Goa, hailed from Uttar Pradesh but was posted in Goa.

The police built a case, that the victim and the accused used to have regular fights over his alcohol habits during which he would often turn violent and beat his wife and daughter in what was termed as sustained domestic abuse.