The Kasaragod sessions court on Monday convicted two accused in the murder case of P.V. Janaki, a retired teacher in Puliyannur near Cheemeni. She was murdered on December 13, 2017.
The court found first accused Vaishakh, 32, of Cheerakulam and third accused Arun Kumar, 29, of Maklikode guilty while acquitting second accused Rineesh, 28, a resident of Cheruvangode, for lack of evidence. Kasaragod Session Court judge C. Krishna Kumar pronounced the verdict. The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence on Tuesday. All the three accused were students of the victim.
During the investigation, the police found that the murder was committed by a three-member gang to steal gold and cash from her house. The masked robbers, after slashing the throat of Janaki and severely injuring her husband K. Krishnan, fled away with 17 sovereigns of gold and ₹92,000 from the house.
Following the investigation, the police arrested Rineesh, Arun Kumar and Vaishakh, who were local residents. The bills of the sale of gold found in the house of the first accused gave the lead in the murder case and helped the investigation team nab the other accused.
Apart from the clues obtained from Mr. Krishnan’s statement while undergoing treatment at a Mangaluru hospital, a scientific and comprehensive investigation conducted in various parts of the country helped the probe team zero in on the accused.
The police had also recovered stolen gold from Kannur and Mangaluru.
