Dumka: A Jamtara court on Tuesday sentenced a 30-year-old man to eight years of rigorous imprisonment for forcing his wife to undergo an illegal abortion, resulting in her death.Principal district and sessions judge Radha Krishna convicted Kaushal Kumar after finding him guilty of endangering his wife’s life in his desire to have a male child.Pooja Kumari, daughter of Jitendra Kumar Sah from Giridih district, got married to Kaushal, a resident of Kali Pahadi village, in 2022. The couple had a one-year-old daughter. Their family life was reportedly normal until Pooja became pregnant for a second time. According to the prosecution, when she was seven months’ pregnant, Kaushal allegedly arranged to conduct ultrasound scan of his wife, which revealed that she was carrying a girl. Following this, he began pressuring his wife to terminate the pregnancy. Kaushal forced Pooja to undergo an illegal abortion conducted by an unqualified practitioner. The procedure severely impacted her health, and she succumbed to post-abortion complications in 2024.Sah subsequently lodged an FIR against his son-in-law, leading to his arrest. Kaushal later came out on bail.The prosecution presented nine witnesses during the trial. Based on the evidence and arguments, the court convicted Kaushal on April 4 and pronounced the sentence on Tuesday.
