75-Year-Old UP Priest Jailed For Life For Killing Woman He Had Affair With

A local court here sentenced a 75-year-old temple priest to life imprisonment for killing a married woman with whom he had an alleged illicit affair.

In May 2020, Sripal, a resident of Badrauli village under Kaisarganj, lodged a complaint regarding the disappearance of his 55-year-old wife Shivaka, district government counsel Munnu Lal Mishra said.

Sripal alleged that Ramsaran, the priest of the Santridas Kutti temple near the village, had an illicit relationship with his wife and visited their house frequently.

When the family members confronted him, the visits stopped.

However, on May 23, 2020, Shivaka went missing from her house, and her body, partially eaten by animals, was found near a pond in the vicinity of the temple on May 28, he said.

In the charge sheet filed in court, police said Ramsaran killed Shivaka by hitting her on the head with an iron rod.

After hearing both sides, the court of District Judge Utkarsh Chaturvedi on April 29 convicted Ramsaran of murdering Shivaka and hiding the body. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and asked to pay a fine of Rs 51,000, Mishra said.

In case of non-payment of the fine, the court said, Ramsaran will have to undergo additional imprisonment of 15 months.

The court ordered that 50 per cent of the fine amount should be given to the family members of the dead. 

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