Palakkad (Kerala) | A Kerala court on Monday sentenced two persons to life imprisonment for their involvement in the sensational honour killing of a 27-year-old man in Thenkurussi in this district nearly four years ago.
Additional Sessions Court 1 judge Justice Vinayaka Rao R found Prabhu Kumar and Suresh, the first and second accused, guilty of murdering the man for marrying Kumar's daughter.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of the convicts.
The judge ruled that both the accused should undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years in default of payment of a fine.
The court also handed three years of rigorous imprisonment to the accused for offences under IPC Section 506 (criminal intimidation).
The judge allowed "set-off" as permitted under Sections 432 and 433 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which would credit the time they had already spent in custody.
The tragic incident occurred on December 25, 2020.
Anish was murdered by his wife's father Prabhu Kumar and uncle Suresh just 88 days after his marriage to Haritha, who belonged to another caste.
The prosecution argued that Anish's marriage to Haritha, who came from a family with financial and caste privileges, was the reason behind the murder.
Haritha and Anish's parents, who came to the court, expressed disappointment over the verdict and said they would approach the higher court with an appeal.
"We expected that the accused would either get a death sentence or at least a double life term. This punishment was too small for the gravity of the crime they had committed," a teary-eyed Haritha told reporters outside the court.
She alleged that she had received death threats during the trial from her family.
Anish's parents also reacted similarily and said they would approach the government seeking to go for an appeal against the present verdict.
"The accused have no regret even now, and they still claim that they had not committed anything wrong. They brutally killed my son. They deserve more punishment. We will go to any extent to ensure this," the deceased man's father said.
