HC confirms ex-MLA’s life sentence for wife’s murder

Cuttack: Orissa high court has dismissed the appeal of former MLA Ram Murti Gamango (79) and confirmed his life sentence for the murder of his wife 29 years ago. Gamango’s wife, Sashirekha, was found dead in his MLA quarters in Bhubaneswar on Aug 29, 1995.
HC directed Gamango, who was on bail, to surrender before the trial court to undergo the sentence and deposit the fine of Rs 50,000.
While dismissing Gamango’s appeal on Wednesday, the two-judge bench of Justices S K Sahoo and Chittaranjan Dash said, “The conviction of the appellant under sections 302 (murder) and 201 (disappearance of evidence) of the IPC stands firmly substantiated.”
“The prosecution established, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the appellant intentionally caused the death of his wife, fulfilling the requirements of Section 302 IPC for murder. The forensic findings, including ante-mortem injury on the deceased, soot in the trachea indicating inhalation during the fire, and the appellant’s implausible claims of suicide, all negate any hypothesis other than intentional homicide,” the bench ruled.
“The tampering with the scene and delayed call to the authorities, with no attempt to seek immediate medical assistance, reflect clear intent to mislead and obstruct the course of justice. Each element of Section 201 is satisfied, as the appellant’s actions were intended to shield himself from liability by erasing critical evidence of the crime,” the bench added.
The third additional sessions judge, Bhubaneswar, sentenced Gamango to life imprisonment on June 27, 2023. Gamango filed a criminal appeal in HC the same year. He was on bail during the trial. While in custody, HC granted him bail on Aug 11, 2023, and suspended further execution of the sentence pending disposal of his appeal.