Ghaziabad: A Kavinagar man was sentenced to two years in jail under Section 406 of the IPC (criminal breach of trust) for failing to return assets belonging to his wife. The couple married in 2008, and the case seeking the return of household items given to the groom by the woman’s parents, along with a separate dowry case, has been pending for more than 14 years. A fine of Rs 5,000 was also imposed.Additional chief judicial magistrate Sharjil Khan said that a review of the list of belongings filed on record and the legal notice dated Dec 22, 2011, reveals that the complainant, Niraj alias Malishka, requested the return of her belongings from the accused Sandeep Rana, which were not returned even after the notice was served. Rana himself stated in cross-examination that he possessed many of the items mentioned in the list. The accused’s contradictory statements supported Niraj’s claim that he misappropriated her belongings.The matter is linked to an FIR registered with the Kavinagar police station for criminal breach of trust, which is linked to another case of dowry, causing hurt and criminal intimidation.Niraj told the court that she married Rana on July 11, 2008. She claimed her parents spent about Rs 10 lakh on bridal gifts at the time of the wedding. However, her in-laws demanded an extra Rs 4 lakh as dowry. When her family could not meet that demand, she was forced to cut ties with her maternal family and was later thrown out of the house while she was pregnant on Jan 4, 2010.She presented a list of items that were given to her during marriage and also produced a copy of the legal notice that she served upon Rana on Dec 22, 2011. The notice went unanswered, following which a case of criminal breach of trust was filed against Rana and his mother, Rashmi Singh, who later died in the course of the case proceedings and her name was abated.Niraj told the court that her divorce case is still pending for a hearing. Meanwhile, her estranged husband has been disposing of all her bridal gifts—items she has been asking for ever since she was forced to leave her matrimonial home in 2010.Niraj and her father, Jitendra Singh, appeared as prosecution witnesses, whereas Sandeep and his brother-in-law testified as defence witnesses.Having heard both sides, the court observed that the statements of witnesses reveal that Niraj was given household items, furniture, jewellery and Rs 2,50,000 in cash by her father at the time of her marriage and keeping in view Rana’s contradictory statements, declared him guilty of criminal breach of trust.
