Alappuzha (Kerala), Nov 24 (PTI) A court here on Monday sentenced a man to death for murdering a pregnant woman at Kainakary in the district.
Additional District and Sessions Court Judge Suhaib M sentenced Prabeesh (36), a native of Nilambur, to death and imposed a fine of Rs 2.5 lakh for murdering Anitha Sasidharan (32) of Punnapra, Alappuzha, on July 9, 2021.
The court also found Rejani (38), a native of Kainakary, guilty in the case, but her sentence was not pronounced as she is currently lodged in a jail in Odisha following her arrest in a narcotics case.
A warrant has been issued for her production from the Odisha jail.
The sentence will be announced after hearing her as part of the legal procedure, police said.
The court awarded Prabeesh the death penalty and a fine of Rs 1 lakh under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC.
He was also sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Rs 1 lakh under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy).
Additionally, he was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 50,000 under Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence).
The court acquitted both accused of the charge under Section 316 of IPC (causing the death of an unborn child).
The death penalty is subject to confirmation by the Kerala High Court.
“Upon execution of the death sentence, the custodial sentence shall lapse. In case the death sentence is commuted or remitted by the appropriate authorities, the accused will be entitled to set off the period of detention already undergone from July 13, 2021 till today,” the court order stated.
Following the verdict, Prabeesh was shifted to the Kannur Central Prison.
The court directed that the fine amount, if recovered, be paid to the father and children of the deceased and instructed the District Legal Services Authority to ensure compensation under the Kerala Victim Compensation Scheme.
“By their act, the accused extinguished two lives: that of Anitha, and that of the foetus that had developed for five months. The life of the unborn child, who had every possibility of survival and growth had the pregnancy continued, was also destroyed,” the court observed.
The court held that the offence fell under the “rarest of rare” category, warranting the death penalty.
“Having considered the totality of circumstances, and upon weighing the aggravating factors, and especially in the absence of mitigating circumstances, I hold that this case falls within the purview of the rarest of rare cases, where the lesser alternative is unquestionably foreclosed,” the judgment said.
Anitha’s body was found floating in the Pookaitha River near the Aryanthodu Bridge in Kainakary on July 10, 2021.
According to the prosecution, Prabeesh was in a relationship with both Anitha, a mother of two children, and Rejani, who was also married.
When Anitha became pregnant, he allegedly pressured her to terminate the pregnancy.
Anitha, who worked at a farm in Alathoor, Palakkad, was called to Rejani’s house, where the duo strangled her on July 9, 2021, and later dumped her body in the river.
During the trial, 82 witnesses were examined, and 131 documents and 53 material objects were produced as evidence. PTI TBA TBA ROH
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.