Jalpaiguri man gets death for killing wife, daughter
Times of India | 5 February 2025
Jalpaiguri: A man was sentenced to death by a Jalpaiguri court on Tuesday for the murder of his wife and 18-month-old daughter in 2023.
According to special public prosecutor Pintu Kumar Deb, the crime took place in the dead of night on March 27, 2023. Lal Singh Oraon, a resident of Nagrakata tea garden area, killed his wife Sakhi Oraon (27) and daughter Mamta Oraon with an axe and then attempted suicide.
Oraon's brother, who lived in the same house, heard the commotion and went to their room. On discovering the grisly scene, he informed the neighbours. It was stated that when the neighbours went to the house, Oraon admitted to killing his wife and daughter with an axe.
"Although there is no eyewitness, circumstantial evidence and other evidence were quite strong. This is a rarest of the rare case," Deb informed the reporters.
The case was investigated by SI Jyotish Ch Barman and the charges were framed in 2024.
There were 13 witnesses, including Oraon's brother and uncle, in the case. Sakhi's mother, Budhni, in her testimony stated that her daughter told her Oraon, who was unemployed and depended on his wife for money, would often get intoxicated and torture her.
"With regards to the reliability of the witnesses, the accused failed to establish the submissions that someone entered while they slept and killed his wife and daughter while inflicting injury on him," Deb said.
The sentencing by the additional district and sessions judge, 3rd Court of Jalpaiguri, now has to be ratified by Calcutta High Court.