₹5 lakh out of ₹10-lakh fine to be paid to victims’ kin
Staff Reporter
KALPETTA
Viswan alias Viswanathan, 48, of Maruthorayil Kalungottummal near Thottilpalam in Kozhikode district, was on Monday sentenced to death for the murder of a couple at Kandathuvayal near Vellamunda in the district in July 2018.
District and Sessions Judge A. Harris found him guilty on Saturday and imposed the death penalty, along with a fine of ₹10 lakh under Section 302 (punishment for murder), of the IPC.
He was sentenced to another term of 10 years and slapped with a fine of ₹1 lakh under Section 449 (house trespass to commit offence punishable with death) and a term of seven years in jail under Section 394 (Robbery ) of the IPC.
He has also been awarded a term of seven years and a fine of ₹1 lakh under Section 201 (destruction of evidence) of the IPC.
The court also directed the convict to pay ₹5 lakh from the fine to the next of kin of the diseased.
The prosecution case was that Viswanathan reached the house of the newly-wed couple Ummar, 26, and Fathima, 19, at Kandathuvayal around 2 a.m. on July 5, 2018, with the intention of stealing Fathima’s gold jewellery.
He clubbed the couple to death using an iron bar when they woke up during the theft attempt. After confirming their death, he took away Fathima’s jewellery and a mobile phone.
He also sprinkled chilli powder inside the house in order to destroy the evidence.
The investigation was taken up by a special team under DySP K.M. Devasya. The police nabbed Viswanathan after a probe spanning two months.
Advocate Joseph Mathew appeared for the prosecution.
A search on the IMEI number of the stolen mobile phone, the blood-stained footprints of the accused on the bedroom floor of the couple, and a round comb left by the accused in the house helped the police to nab the culprit, Mr. Mathew told The Hindu.
As many as 72 witnesses appeared before the court. A total of 112 pieces of evidence and 33 properties were produced before the court in connection with the case, he said.
