Man convicted in dowry death case in Gujarat

Additional sessions judge RN Malek sentenced Amit Satyendralal Sharma to five years imprisonment and fined him Rs5,000 for abetment of suicide of his wife Sashibala Sharma, who was a teacher at Delhi Public School (DPS), Ahmedabad. The court, however, acquitted Amit’s mother Chanchal Sharma on lack of evidence.

Amit Sharma, an employee at Shah Alloys, married Sashibala Sharma on October 2001.  At the marriage, the bride’s father Surendra Pal Sharma who belongs to Punjab, gave a plot of land worth crores of rupees to Amit as dowry. But soon after the marriage, Amit started demanding more money. Moreover, the plot of land which Sashibala’s father had given to Amit was registered in her name and Amit insisted she sell the land, which she refused to do.  

Amit also used to physically and emotionally abuse his wife. On February 2, 2007 Sashi allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the sixth floor of her house at Goyal Intercity, Thaltej. She died on the spot and later her father lodged a complaint of abetment of suicide against Amit and his mother Chanchal Sharma.    

“The court awarded five years of imprisonment to Amit on the basis of documentary evidence that supported the fact that Sashibala committed suicide due to emotional and physical torture,” said public prosecutor, Sashibhushan Sharma.