AURANGABAD: The Nanded district and sessions court on Friday sentenced a 40-year-old man from Malegaon to life imprisonment for murdering a one-and-half-year-old child who along with his parents visited Ardhapur taluka in March 2009.The court has also slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 on him and in case of default he would have to undergo additional 15-day imprisonment.Prosecution lawyer Yadav P Talegaonkar said district and sessions judge A G Mohabe also sentenced the accused under section 364 (abduction) to 10-year rigorous imprisonment. However, the accused would have to undergo both the sentences concurrently.Rahul Shrikhande, a resident of Rajala in Aundha taluka of Hingoli district , had come to meet his in-laws in Malegaon in Nanded district on March 2, 2009 along with his wife, two daughters and one-and-half-year-old son.On that day, Shrikhande spotted the convict, Subhash Waghmare, staring at his son. When he questioned Waghmare, other family members took him away saying that the man has some psychological issues.After having dinner, Shrikhande and his other family members slept inside the room while his mother-in-law, brother-in-law and the deceased child, named Gyaniratna, slept outside in the courtyard.Around 4 am on March 3, 2009, the child was found to be missing by his grandmother. She alerted the others and they started searching for Gyaniratna. Unable to find the child, the family lodged a complaint with the Ardhapur police and named Waghmare as the suspect.“The police raided Waghmare’s residence and found the child’s body stashed in a fertilizer bag. The convict was arrested under abduction and murder charges,” Talegaonkar said.The prosecution examined as many as 10 witnesses. Talegaonkar said that the defense could not establish their claim that Waghmare was mentally unsound and had committed the murder under a fit of insanity.Following this, the judge Mohabe awarded life term to Waghmare. Talegaonkar said that the convict lived alone in the village as his family members had distanced themselves from him due to his lifestyle.

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