An Additional Sessions Court here on Friday awarded death penalty to a 39-year-old man for murdering an aged couple near Manimala about a decade ago.
Pronouncing the quantum of sentence, Additional Sessions Judge J. Nasser also imposed a fine of ₹2 lakh on the convict, Arun Sasi, of Pazhayidom. The court had earlier found him guilty of murdering N. Bhaskaran Nair, 71, a retired Public Works department superintendent, and his wife Thankamma, 68, a retired KSEB officer, by smashing their heads with a hammer.
‘Rarest of the rare’ case
Awarding the death penalty, the court noted that the person got involved in a few other offences including a robbery in just 21 days after these gruesome murders. Observing that the case fits into the `rarest of the rare’ category, the judge also held that the convict deserved no leniency.
The prosecution, represented by K. Jithesh, was able to prove the charges of murder (302), house trespassing (449) and robbery (397) against the convict. After bludgeoning their heads with a hammer, he smothered the couple with a pillow.
Arun, a relative of the woman, reached their residence on August 28, 2013 with an intention to kill them. When Thankamma went upstairs to pick up some clothes, Arun attacked Bhaskaran who was watching TV. Thankamma, who rushed to the spot upon hearing the noise, too was killed in the same way, according to the prosecution.
Arun admitted to the crime after landing in police custody in connection with a chain-snatching case. During a follow-up investigation, the police recovered around 11 sovereigns of gold from him. Arun, who was later released on bail, went absconding but was nabbed from Chennai.
