Orissa HC upholds conviction, life term of former Gunupur MLA in wife murder case

In a major jolt to former Gunupur MLA Ramamurthy Gomango, the Orissa High Court on Wednesday upheld the conviction and life imprisonment order passed by a lower court in connection with the murder of his wife.

In 2023, the special MP/MLA court in Bhubaneswar 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.

Challenging the court’s verdict, Gomango had moved Orissa High Court. While hearing the petition today, the Orissa High Court upheld the verdict and life imprisonment.

Half-burnt body of Sashirekha Gomango, wife of the former legislator, was found in the bathroom of the MLA's official residence in Bhubaneswar on September 28, 1995. She was pregnant at the time of her death, according to the police.

Initially, a case of unnatural death was registered at the Kharavela Nagar Police Station and it was later converted into a murder case. Gomango had then claimed that his wife died by suicide.

Gomango was first elected to the assembly in 1990 from the Gunupur seat in Rayagada district on a Janata Dal ticket. He was re-elected from the same seat in 2000 on a BJP ticket. However, in 2004, he lost to his nearest Congress rival, Hema Gamang.

He quit the BJP shortly after the BJD snapped ties with the party in 2009. He again went back to the BJP in 2014.