Vadodara: The city sessions court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for murdering his live-in partner at their residence in the Bapod area of Vadodara. Sachin Dixit (36) was convicted for the 2021 murder of Heena Pethani (30) following a domestic dispute between the couple.“The court considered all the evidence on record and sentenced Dixit to life imprisonment,” public prosecutor advocate Ramesh Gyanchandani said.According to the prosecution, Dixit, a resident of Ahmedabad, was in a relationship with Pethani, even though he was married to someone else. In June 2021, Dixit and Pethani shifted to Vadodara along with their one-year-old son, after Pethani persuaded Dixit to relocate and work in the city, as she was struggling to manage in Ahmedabad.Police said Dixit stayed with Pethani during the weekdays in Vadodara and spent weekends with his parents in Ahmedabad.In Oct 2021, Dixit told Pethani that he would be travelling to his native village in Uttar Pradesh with his parents. Pethani reportedly got upset, suspecting that Dixit’s wife would accompany them. The argument escalated into a heated confrontation during which Dixit strangled her in a fit of rage.After the murder, Dixit packed Pethani’s body in a suitcase and hid it in the kitchen of their residence. He then took their one-year-old son to Gandhinagar, where he abandoned the boy near a gaushala, before leaving for Uttar Pradesh with his family.The case unravelled after local authorities were alerted about the abandoned child. During the investigation, police traced the registration number of Dixit’s car, leading them to him. On questioning him, the murder came to light, after which Vadodara city police recovered Pethani’s body.
