PALAKKAD: A man who killed a woman by suffocating her and cutting her body into pieces and abandoning it in several places was sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Rs 50,000.The convict is M M Shajan, of Mannath veetil, Chittarikal, of Palavayal in Kasargod. The Fast Track Court (III) judge Snehalatha pronounced the judgment. On the charge of destroying documents and evidence, the court sentenced Shajan to five years in prison and imposed Rs 25,000 as fine. The judgment noted the sentences would run concurrently.
The incident took place on July 29, 2007. Shajan smothered housewife Leena ( Elizabeth alias Leni), 42, who was living with him, with a pillow. Later, he cut her body and dumped the severed body parts, all but the head, at different places.
Shajan told the police that when the news came about the recovery of different parts of the body, he took the severed head in a bag and dumped it near the KSRTC bus stand. After recovering the body parts, the police began investigating the cases of missing women.
It was at that time, a local informed the police Leena was missing. Subsequently, Shajan was arrested.
Shajan was working as a field executive of a private finance company and it was when Leena questioned him over his affair with another woman he decided to kill her. Leena, a native of Pathanamthitta, had come in contact with Shajan when he was working in Adoor. She abandoned her husband and two children to live with Shajan in Palakkad.