A 2023 chopper attack inside a Tripura home left a husband dead, and his wife was initially booked for murder under Section 302 IPC. Why did the trial finally end with a conviction under Section 304 Part-I IPC and a 10-year rigorous imprisonment sentence?

TRIPURA: A court in Tripura’s Gomati district has sentenced Kajal Kanya Jamatia to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for killing her husband, Prem Kumar Jamatia, in an incident that took place in April 2023.

The District and Sessions Court at Udaipur convicted Kajal on August 25, 2026, after examining the evidence presented during the criminal trial. The court found her guilty under Section 304 Part I of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The case arose from an incident on April 27, 2023, at Kashipada Colony under Birganj Police Station in Gomati district.

According to the prosecution case reported by Tripura Police, Kajal attacked her husband with a chopper inside their hut. Prem suffered a serious cut injury to his throat and died from the injuries.

After the incident, Kajal went to Birganj Police Station and surrendered. Police initially registered the criminal case under Section 302 IPC, which deals with punishment for murder.

Contemporaneous reporting in 2023 also recorded the police version that the incident appeared to have followed domestic quarrels. Gomati Superintendent of Police Ajit Pratap Singh had said:

“It seems the crime was committed out of domestic quarrels. We are investigating further to ascertain what happened. We arrested the woman and produced her before the court today (Friday)”.

Inspector Bimal Baidya, then posted at Birganj Police Station, conducted the investigation. After completing the investigation, police filed the chargesheet on May 31, 2023.

The matter thereafter went to trial before the District and Sessions Court, Udaipur.

After examining the evidence, the court did not ultimately convict Kajal under the original Section 302 IPC murder charge. Instead, it held her guilty under Section 304 Part-I IPC, which deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder where the required intention is established.

The court sentenced her to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.

EXPLANATORY TABLE OF LAWS AND SECTIONS

CASE DETAILS

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• A husband lost his life inside his own home after being attacked with a chopper.
• His wife, Kajal Kanya Jamatia, surrendered after the incident and was initially booked under Section 302 IPC.
• The trial court ultimately convicted her under Section 304 Part-I IPC for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
• She was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for the killing.
• When the victim is a husband, his life deserves the same outrage and visibility—male victims of domestic violence cannot remain an inconvenient footnote.