Following a legal battle with many twists, a Pune court has sentenced a 45-year-old man to seven years in jail for trying to kill his wife with capsules laced with pieces of blades. The wife, the complainant and main witness, turned hostile during the trial, but Additional Sessions Judge Aniruddha Gandhi relied on medical evidence to pass the order on Friday.According to police records, 45-year-old Somnath, a barber, lived in Pune’s Shivane area with his wife, 42, a son, and a daughter. On November 14, 2023, Somnath’s wife filed a police complaint against him. She said she had been suffering from stomach pain for a couple of months and found a piece of razor blade in her stool in October.On November 4, she found another piece of blade in her stool, the complaint says. The complaint added that Somnath ignored her concerns when she told him about the blade pieces. Then, on November 8, her children rushed her to a hospital after a bout of severe abdominal pain. A CT scan found another piece of blade in her body, and doctors removed it by performing an endoscopic surgery.In her complaint to the police, Somnath’s wife alleged that he doubted her character and had tortured her physically and mentally for months. But his behaviour suddenly changed and he started taking care of her, the complaint said. She said he started giving her capsules, saying they contained calcium and would help with her leg pain. The wife alleged that Somnath put pieces of razor blades in the capsules to kill her.Based on his wife’s complaint, the police registered an FIR under multiple charges, including attempt to murder and cruelty, and arrested Somnath. During the investigation, police found pieces of razor blades and strips of antibiotic capsules at Somnath’s home.Police recorded statements of the doctor who performed the surgery on Somnath’s wife. Police also recorded the statement of the owner of the medicine shop where Somnath bought the capsules.But during the trial, his wife gave statements that contradicted her earlier allegations. Somnath’s son turned hostile and rejected the allegations against his father.Story continues below this adSomnath claimed in court that his wife may have eaten contaminated food at a restaurant. The court, however, considered statements of the doctor who operated on Somnath’s wife.The doctor told the court that if the blade is consumed with food, it may cause internal injuries to a person. No such injuries were found in the woman’s body, the doctor said, while confirming that blade pieces can be given with capsules and that it can be a threat to life.The court even called for a demonstration. A razor blade was twisted and placed inside a capsule in front of the court to establish that capsules laden with such blade pieces can be given to a person.The court also observed that Somnath, a barber, was efficient at handling razor blades. So he may have easily cut the blade and placed its pieces into the capsules, the court stated.Story continues below this adAssistant public prosecutor L R Pathak argued Somnath had pressured his wife, forcing her to turn hostile in court. “But the court should give maximum punishment to the accused by considering the evidence available against him. So that no accused in such cases would develop pressure on the witnesses and make them hostile in future,” Pathak said.Somnath, granted bail on December 20, 2023, told the court that he is the family’s sole earning member and that his wife and children would suffer if he is in prison. The court convicted him of attempted murder (Section 307 of the IPC) and cruelty against his wife (Section 498A) and sentenced him to seven years in jail.