Aizawl, Sep 14 (PTI) A district court in Mizoram on Thursday sentenced a 38-year-old woman to 10 years in jail for killing her niece, a court official said.
Champhai district additional and sessions judge Sylvie Zomuanpuii Ralte convicted and sentenced Chingsianzovi to 10 years in jail and slapped a fine of Rs 5,000, the official said.
Chingsianzovi will have to undergo an additional imprisonment of one year if she fails to pay the fine, he said.
Chingsianzovi from east Mizoram's Khawzawl town strangulated her 13-year-old niece Catherine T. Biaksiami to death in February last year.
The two were camping at a farmhouse to collect firewood at the time of the incident.
Chingsianzovi asked Catherine to collect firewood during the day and became livid after seeing that her niece failed to collect firewood up to her satisfaction.
The two quarreled and in a fit of rage, Chingsianzovi choked her niece to death with the help of 'Hnam' (a traditional strap for carrying loads).
Initially, Chingsianzovi denied killing her niece and told police that an unidentified man had attempted to kidnap Catherine and that she caught the culprit and tied him with a rope.
However, when the police team reached the crime scene, they found the girl lying dead in the farmhouse.
Later, police detained Chingsianzovi and subsequently she confessed to her crime.
The prosecution upheld that Chingsianzovi accidentally killed her niece since she was drunk. She was convicted her under Section 304 and Section 182 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Catherine was an orphan and she was living with her aunt Chingsianzovi in Khawzawl town.