Keonjhar: The additional district judge of Keonjhar, Mamita Das, on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to a man for murdering his wife in 2022.The convict, Narottam Penthei from Sirigida village under Telkoi block, was also slapped with a fine of Rs 10,000. Failure to pay the fine would result in an additional six months of imprisonment.According to special public prosecutor Prafulla Patra, the incident took place on May 10, 2022 when Narottam entered his in-laws’ house around 10 pm with an axe and attacked his 20-year-old wife, Babita Penthei, who was sleeping alongside her parents, Vishwanath and Gomoti Penthei. Narottam slit Babita’s throat and fled when Gomoti tried to intervene.Babita succumbed to her injuries on the spot due to severe bleeding. Her father filed a complaint at Telkoi police station around 3:15 am, following which Narottam was arrested and charged with murder. The court’s verdict was based on statements from 18 witnesses and the police investigation report, Patra added.