KENDRAPARA:  The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADJ), Kendrapara sentenced three members of a family to life imprisonment in a dowry death case on Wednesday. ADJ Pragnya Panigrahi convicted the trio after finding them guilty of burning 22-year-old Laxmi Mallick to death for dowry in March 2013. Besides, the court also slapped a fine of `1,000 each on the convicts and failure to pay it would result in their sentence being increased by one more month.

The convicted persons are Laxmi’s husband Susant Mallick, father-in-law Agasti Mallick and mother-in-law Mukta Mallick of Kataramalla village in Pattamundai.As per the FIR filed by the victim’s father Akshya Mallick, Laxmi married Susant on July 9, 2012. However, she was tortured for dowry by her in-laws who set her afire by pouring kerosene on March 4, 2013.

She succumbed to her injuries at SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack on March 16, 2013.  In her dying declaration before the police and magistrate at the hospital, Laxmi had said that she was set on fire for failing to meet her in-laws’ demand of `50,000 as dowry along with a colour TV set.