KOLLAM: The parents of Uthra and the public at large are eagerly awaiting the verdict in the murder case against her husband Sooraj. The verdict will be pronounced by the Kollam Additional Sessions Court on October 11. According to the case, Uthra died in sleep in her house in Anchal on May 7, 2020, after a snake was released by Sooraj in their room to bite her after a similar attempt to kill her at his house near Adoor on May 2 failed.
Sooraj allegedly did this after his attempts to extract more dowry from her family failed. He was arrested on May 24, 2020, based on the suspicion raised by Uthra’s family over her death. The probe team led by former Rural SP S Harishankar submitted scientific evidence like the reports of the autopsy conducted on Uthra and the snake to the court. The trial in the case started on December 1, 2020. Though snake catcher Suresh, a native of Parippally, who handed over the poisonous reptiles to Sooraj in both incidents, was named an accused in the case, he turned approver later.
During the hearing, the approver informed the court that he had handed over the two snakes to Sooraj on the latter’s demand without knowing the exact purpose. As per the chargesheet that runs into over 1,000 pages submitted on November 1, Sooraj had tried to kill Uthra on two occasions by releasing poisonous snakes to bite her.