Man sets sister in-law ablaze, given lifer

A man, held guilty of killing his sister-in-law by setting her ablaze for not vacating his house, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi court on the basis of the victim’s dying declaration.

A man, held guilty of killing his sister-in-law by setting her ablaze for not vacating his house, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi court on the basis of the victim’s dying declaration.

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Additional sessions judge Surinder Kumar Sharma sentenced north-east Delhi resident Gopal Chand, holding him guilty of burning Sangeeta alive.

“It was Gopal Chand who poured kerosene oil on Sangeeta and set her on fire as a result of which she sustained 90% burn injuries, which later resulted in her death,” the judge said.

The court treated the statements made by Sangeeta before her death as dying declaration and held that since they were reliable and voluntary, they needed no corroboration.

Chand apparently wanted Sangeeta to vacate the house.