Man gets death sentence for killing wife, 2 toddlers

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, February 29

A 45-year-old man was today awarded death sentence by the Kapurthala Sessions Court in a seven-year-old murder case.

Baljinder Kumar, alias Kala, was convicted for the murder of four persons, including his wife and two toddlers, over a money dispute. Referring to several previous cases, Additional Sessions Judge Rajwinder Kaur said, “it is held that it is one of the rarest of rare cases in which the convict must meet the gallows.”

The judgment said, “The public prosecutor has prayed for death sentence for the convict on the ground that the crime committed by him has shaken the conscience of society at large, and the accused is guilty of such a diabolic act which cannot be penalised except with death penalty.”

The verdict said conscience of society as a whole was shocked by the crime as the accused had eliminated his own two innocent children, wife and sister-in-law.

The judgment said, “chances of repetition of such criminal act by the accused — making the complainant Vijay, Manjit Kaur and Harry vulnerable — are apparent because of their deposition against him he could also eliminate them.” The court said the execution of the death sentence shall be subject to confirmation by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

He was also ordered to pay a fine of Rs 2 lakh. He was further sentenced under Sections 308 and 325 of the IPC to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years and to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 and in default of payment of fine, to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 months, in case death sentence is not confirmed by the High Court.

Murders over money

• After not getting Rs35,000 from his mother-in-law Manjit Kaur, Baljinder Kumar murdered his wife Seema Rani, sister-in-law Reena Rani, children Harsh and Suman Kumari with sharp-edged weapons
• He also assaulted two more persons, Harry and Om Parkash, who is leading a vegetative life. A case had been registered at Satnampura, Phagwara, on November 29, 2013

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