Mumbai: Observing that the existence of any dispute on family matters or family finances alone cannot contribute to a strong motive to commit a serious crime of murder of a family member, a 40-year-old homemaker who spent four years in jail for murdering her mother-in-law was acquitted after the court noted that the ailing senior citizen’s death could have been accidental. The victim, Anthoni Muthuswami, a heart patient, was found dead in her home in 2021, and it was alleged that she was killed because of the financial strain her cardiac issues were causing the family.“It is observed that the probability of defence of accidental strangulation is made out, whereas the prosecution has failed to establish that the accused caused injuries to Anthoni, resulting in her death. As such, it is not the death caused by any person or by any human intervention, and as such, it is not proved to be a homicidal death,” additional sessions judge Shayana V Patil said. The complainant, Murugan Muthuswami, husband of the accused, Shanti Muthuswami, who suspected that his wife killed his mother over a financial dispute, turned hostile along with his two daughters.Referring to the testimony of Shanti’s daughter, Priyanka Muthuswami, who found her grandmother’s body when she returned home, the judge said that it can be believed that she is interested in saving her mother from any prosecution, which has caused her to change her version by not deposing any adverse thing against the accused. “Under such circumstances, the testimony of PW 2 (prosecution witness 2, Priyanka) cannot be relied upon in order to ascertain any material aspect of the prosecution case like the previous conduct of the accused or even the situation prevalent on the spot when she returned home,” the judge said.The judge said that based on the medical experts’ opinion, probability of accidental strangulation as the cause of death is evident. It was also observed that the prosecution has not successfully demonstrated that the accused inflicted injuries on Anthoni that led to her death. The prosecution stated that Murugan lived with his wife, Shanti, and their two daughters. He, his wife, and their elder daughter worked to support themselves. His mother, Anthoni, resided in their hometown and earned her living through farm work. The accused, Shanti, had been demanding money from her mother-in-law for their daughter’s school fees, leading to disputes between them. Anthoni told her son, the complainant, that she was feeling tired and suffering from asthma.Murugan informed his wife that he intended to visit his mother. However, his wife refused. As a result, he called his mother, Anthoni, to come to Mumbai for medical treatment.