Man sentenced to life for killing neighbour, stabbing her daughters

Rajkot: The sessions court of Morbi sentenced 24-year-old Vikram Phultariya to life imprisonment for murdering a neighbour and stabbing her two daughters in 2020.According to the prosecution, around 2.15am on Aug 23, 2020, Phultariya approached the house of Ramanik, a local ritualist (bhuva), in Valasan village of Wankaner taluka. Ramanik's wife, Kanchan, told Phultariya that her husband was sleeping on the roof and refused to wake him. Phultariya then flew into a rage.With a knife he had hidden in his waistband, Phultariya forced his way into the house. He first attacked the couple's 17-year-old daughter, stabbing her in the neck and left cheek. When Kanchan and her younger daughter rushed in to help, he stabbed them both in the abdomen. Kanchan was later declared dead at Wankaner Govt Hospital.Medical reports presented during the trial showed the severity of the attacks. The doctor testified that the younger girl suffered a deep abdominal wound, measuring 4cm. Kanchan's autopsy revealed a fatal 2.1cm stab wound to her lower abdomen, which had damaged a major artery.The defence attempted to argue that the accused was suffering from mental instability at the time of the crime. The court dismissed this claim after a senior psychiatrist testified that while the accused had a history of depression, he was fully capable of understanding the consequences of his actions on the night of the murder.Principal district and sessions judge P V Shrivastav, in his order dated Jan 17, found Phultariya guilty under Indian Penal Code Sections 302 (murder), 324 (causing hurt with dangerous weapon) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt).