Bhubaneswar: Former Gunupur MLA Ramamurthy Gomango, who was convicted by a special court of the murder of his wife, got breather from Orissa High Court.
Gamango had challenged his conviction in the High Court. The court today granted him bail.
The murder of his wife had happened 27 years ago.
In June, the special MP/MLA court in Bhubaneswar had held Gomango guilty under IPC Section 302 (murder) on the basis of the statements of 11 witnesses and 15 documents.
He was also found guilty of destroying evidence under IPC Section 201.
The special court had sentenced him to life imprisonment for murdering his wife Sashirekha in 1995.
Apart from life imprisonment, the court 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.
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
