Husband sentenced to death in India for burning wife to death because she was black

A court in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India has sentenced a husband to death after eight years, in a case of burning his wife to death because she was black. Before her death, the wife Lakshmi said that her husband Krishnana always called her ‘Kali’. It is known that the victim Lakshmi and Krishnana Das got married in 2016. The husband Krishnana Das used to physically and mentally torture his wife because she was black. One night in 2017, her husband brought a bottle of brown liquid for his wife Lakshmi. Krishnana said that this liquid medicine would make her fair. Lakshmi, trusting her husband in her simplicity, started applying it on her body. She smelled acid, after which her husband, Krishnana, set her body on fire and fled. Before her death, she narrated the brutality to the police at the hospital. After eight long years, a district court in Udaipur, India, sentenced Krishnanana Das to death this week. Explaining the reasons for the verdict, Judge Rahul Chowdhury said the murder was one of the “most heinous crimes”. Such incidents are very rare in the world. It was not just a murder, it was a “crime against humanity”. The judge also said that Krishnanana Das had broken Lakshmi’s trust and had shown extreme cruelty by pouring the remaining liquid on her while her body was burning. The order also said that such a crime is unthinkable in any healthy society. It is a shame on humanity. Public prosecutor Dinesh Paliwal described the verdict as “historic”. He expressed hope that the verdict would be a “lesson” for other people in society. Lawyer Dinesh raised the question, “A 20-year-old girl has been killed in the most brutal way. She was someone’s sister, someone’s daughter, someone loved her. If we don’t protect our daughters, who will?” Dinesh also said that he has sent an order to the High Court to confirm the death sentence. However, the accused can appeal within 30 days.