Bhubaneswar, Jun 27 (PTI) The special court of Additional District Judge (ADJ-III), Bhubaneswar, on Tuesday sentenced former Odisha MLA Ramamurthy Gomanga to life imprisonment for murdering his wife Sashirekha in 1995.

Gomango was convicted on June 24 under Section 302 (murder) and 201 (destroying evidence) of IPC.

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Apart from life imprisonment, special court judge Sashmita Padhi also slapped the former MLA from Gunupur with Rs 60,000 fine under various sections, said government pleader Rashmi Ranjan Brahma.

Gomango was convicted based on the statements of 11 witnesses and 15 documents pertaining to the case.

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According to the prosecution, Sashirekha's half-burnt body was recovered from the bathroom of Gomanga's official quarters here on August 29, 1995.

Though initially an unnatural death case was registered at Kharavel Nagar Police Station in Bhubaneswar, later a murder case was lodged as the probe indicated towards her killing.

Gomango was elected to the Assembly from Gunupur constituency on a Janata Dal ticket in 1995. He joined the BJP in 2000. He was re-elected from the seat on a BJP ticket in 2000, but lost to his Congress rival Hema Gomango in the 2004 elections.

Later, he quit the BJP after the BJD snapped ties with the saffron party in 2009. He joined the BJD, but quit the regional party as he was denied a ticket in 2014.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)