A leading cardiologist of Chandigarh was Monday sentenced by a local court to four years rigorous imprisonment for abetting the suicide of his doctor wife five years ago.
Additional District and Sessions Judge R.N Bharti, who had last week convicted Deepak Kaura, a leading cardiologist who runs a private hospital here, sentenced him to four years rigorous imprisonment.
The court also fined Kaura Rs.2,000.
The cardiologist was arrested by the Chandigarh police June 2005, just months after his doctor wife, Babita, died after falling from the balcony of their flat in Sector 24 here. He was initially booked for murdering his wife but later the charges were converted to abetment to suicide.
Babita was working as an assistant professor of immuno-pathology at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), a premier health institution of north India, here when she died. The couple had two young children.
Kaura and his sister, Deepali, had maintained that Babita fell from the balcony of their flat in Sector 24 Jan 18, 2005.
Kaura was, at that time, running his own private cardiology clinic, Annie Heart institute.
Police later submitted before the court some photographs of Kaura merry-making with his staff nurses at a hill resort in Himachal Pradesh.
‘The deceased was having strained relations with her husband as she was upset over Kaura’s relations with his female colleagues. The couple had consumed liquor in the evening before Babita jumped to death,’ a police official said here Monday.
He added: ‘The couple indulged in some heated argument during late night. Following this, Kaura also called his sister Deepali at his house to resolve the issue. At around 11.55 p.m., Babita went out in the balcony on the pretext of calling someone but she jumped to death.’
Earlier police had also booked Deepali in this case but later she was absolved.
