New Delhi - A man who became a household name in India as the
host of a hugely successful crime show was sentenced on Wednesday to
life in prison for the murder of his wife 17 years ago.
Suhaib Ilyasi produced and directed "India's Most Wanted," a show
about criminals on the run that fetched top ratings in the late
1990s.
Ilyasi's wife, Anju, was found at her home with stab wounds on
January 11, 2000.
Her death was initially treated as a suicide, but three months later
Ilyasi was arrested after Anju's family filed charges of dowry
harassment and murder with the police.
Ilyasi was released on bail after three months and had been
publishing a magazine Bureacracy Today on civil servants and
governance.
A Delhi court on Saturday found Ilyasi guilty of murdering his wife.
"We will appeal against the verdict and sentence. My client is
innocent," Ilyasi's lawyer, Manu Sharma, said
Under the Indian legal system trial court verdicts can be challenged
in higher courts.
India's judicial system is known to be notoriously slow, bogged down
by a shortage of judges, a tendency of lawyers to push for
adjournments and poor infrastructure.