A sessions court on Tuesday convicted and sentenced a 40-year-old woman to life imprisonment for torturing and killing her minor stepdaughter with physical and mental disabilities. The victim who was 6-year-old was found dead at her residence in Bhandup with burns and assault marks all over her body in 2015. The accused, Pratibha Sawant’s older stepdaughter informed the court about the merciless assault she and her sister were subjected to by their step-mother.

The accused's husband Rajesh Sawant sought the release of his wife stating they had a 4-year-old son who lived with his mother in jail. Following the conviction, the court granted the child’s custody to his father. Both the victim and her sister were Rajesh’s children from his first marriage after his first wife had left him. He then married Pratibha Sawant in 2013. Rajesh in his statement told the court that the victim was unable to perform any activities on her own due to her mental and physical disability and this annoyed the accused who had to take care of his children while he was at work plying his autorickshaw. He also stated that Pratibha would fight with him frequently and request him to send the child to an ashram.