BAREILLY: A court in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, on Tuesday sentenced Vikas Upadhyaya to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment after his children testified that he had repeatedly abused their mother, ultimately driving her to take her own life. The convict’s children, aged 8 and 10, were key witnesses in the case, recounting frequent episodes of humiliation and violence against their mother. The judge concluded that Vikas “deserves no mercy,” according to ADGC Digambar Patel.
Patel explained that Vikas Upadhyaya had married Vandana Saxena in November 2011, and the relationship was marked by constant abuse. Vandana was found hanging at their home on August 30, 2023. Her 10-year-old son testified in court that his father regularly dragged his mother by the hair and beat her with belts. On the day before her death, he witnessed his father physically assault her again. The boy told the judge that his mother, deeply upset, had taken her own life.
Vandana’s 8-year-old daughter provided similar testimony, recounting that her father had told her mother to “go and die.” The court noted that a son would not testify against his father unless the testimony was truthful, making his statement a vital piece of evidence in the case.
