Ex-Army major, wife sentenced to 10 years for battering kid

August 04, 2012 18:41

A former Army major and his second wife were today awarded 10 years jail term by a court here for "systematically and meticulously" torturing the officer's minor son from his first wife with the judge saying the couple became "butchers and monster" for the child.

The court said Major (Retd) Lalit Balhara and his second wife Preeti Balhara are "highly educated and knew the distinction between right and wrong, lawful and unlawful" and yet they "systematically and with meticulously" continued with the crime.

While sentencing them, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Virender Bhat rejected their plea for leniency for release on grounds of probation. "In my opinion, aggravating factors noted herein above far outweigh the mitigating factors put forward by the counsel for the convicts.

The convicts do not deserve to be released on probation nor are they entitled to any kind of leniency or elemency. They deserve a harsh punishment," the judge said. "The convicts did not commit crime on the spur of moment but continued doing so systematically and with meticulous planning. Dangerous injuries, both physical as well neurodevelopemental, were suffered by the victim and the injuries required extensive treatment.

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