Homicide defendant Amit Kumar, 44, returned to mental health court on April 29 for a competency evaluation before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Gale E. Rasin, who ruled the defendant is fit for trial and could be held criminally responsible for the 2019 murder of his wife Ankita Verma, 29.
Kumar is being retried on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and possession of a deadly weapon with intent to injure following an appeal from the defense. The appeal was granted on April 13, 2021 after Kumar’s defense team claimed they were prevented from asking certain questions during the jury selection process.
Kumar was previously found guilty of the weapon charge on Feb. 21, 2020 and sentenced to three years in prison. According to prior reporting, his charges stem from a Jan.11, 2019 incident on the 6700 block of Holabird Avenue, where Kumar allegedly stabbed his wife 55 times during a domestic altercation.
An unreported opinion from the Court of Special Appeals claims the dispute arose when Kumar accused Verma, his wife, of sleeping with their boss, who was also their landlord. Verma was reportedly worried that her family would find out about the affair, as Kumar had been telling others about it.
On March 20, Kumar appeared before Judge Rasin to receive the results of an earlier competency evaluation that had been signed on March 6. At that time, the court had approved another evaluation to determine whether Kumar was capable of understanding the charges against him, and whether he was fit to assist in his own defense.
Kumar is now awaiting a date for retrial, which has yet to be scheduled.
