A Principal District and Sessions Court in Koppal has sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹30,000 after finding him guilty of murdering his wife following prolonged dowry harassment.Principal District and Sessions judge Chandrashekhar C. delivered the judgment on July 25, convicting Manjunath Purthageri of Balutagi village in Yelburga taluk for the murder of his wife, Nirmala alias Ningamma.According to the prosecution, Nirmala married Manjunath on March 6, 2018. Her family had reportedly given 40 gms of gold, ₹31,000 in cash and household articles worth ₹60,000 at the time of the marriage. Although the couple lived peacefully for the first four months, Manjunath allegedly began demanding an additional 50 gms of gold as dowry and subjected his wife to physical and mental cruelty.He allegedly threatened to kill her and remarry if the demand was not met.Despite repeated attempts by Nirmala’s family members and village elders to counsel him, the accused allegedly continued to harass her. On the morning of October 29, 2021, while no one else was present in the house, he allegedly assaulted Nirmala with two sickles following a quarrel, inflicting fatal injuries to her neck and right hand. She died on the spot due to excessive bleeding.Based on a complaint, the Yelburga police registered a case under Sections 498A, 302 and 304B of the Indian Penal Code, along with Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. The investigation was conducted by Geetha Benal, then Deputy Superintendent of Police, Koppal, who filed the charge sheet after gathering evidence against the accused.After hearing both sides and examining the evidence and witnesses, the court held the accused guilty and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment besides imposing a fine of ₹30,000 on him.The prosecution was conducted by public prosecutor Bandi Aparna M. on behalf of the State. The prosecution office also acknowledged the assistance of head constable Shivakumar and woman head constable Vijayalakshmi of the Yelburga Police Station for coordinating the investigation and ensuring the timely appearance of witnesses before the court. Published - July 28, 2026 08:20 pm IST