UP Man gets life sentence for slitting pregnant wife's abdomen to find baby's gender

A fast-track court here on Friday sentenced a 38-year-old man to life imprisonment for slitting his pregnant wife’s abdomen to find the gender of their unborn child.

According to the police complaint, in September 2020, Pannalal attacked his wife Anita, who was eight months pregnant with their sixth child, and cut her abdomen open with a sickle.

The accused wanted a boy as the couple already had five daughters, the police said.

Anita survived the attack but the child had to be aborted, they said. The doctors later informed the family that the aborted fetus was a boy, the police said.

Based on the complaint, the police had registered an FIR against Pannalal under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 313 (causing miscarriage without women’s consent) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the police said.

Additional District Government Counsel (ADGC) Munendra Pal told PTI on Friday that the police filed a chargesheet against Pannalal.

“The matter was heard in the court of additional session judge (fast-track court) Saurabh Saxena. The court awarded life imprisonment to Pannalal and also slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on him,” Pal said.