THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A local court in the capital on Thursday sentenced a former police officer to rigorous life imprisonment and also slapped a fine of Rs 60,000 on him for burning his wife to death after dousing her with kerosene, in 2002. The Thiruvananthapuram Additional Sessions Court also ordered the convict K Shashidharan to undergo further imprisonment of three months if he does not pay the fine. Public prosecutor Hareesh Kumar K L, Saneesh Shashiraj and Sudhi M I appeared on behalf of the prosecution.
The case, which was investigated by the local police, was later handed over to the Crime Branch, Thiruvananthapuram unit. During investigation, it was found that Shashidharan murdered his wife Sharada from Vilappilsala, after he came to know that she would disclose to her relatives his extramarital affairs and attempts to assault her daughter.
The Crime Branch slapped Sections 302 (murder) and Section 498A (cruelty by husband or his relative) of IPC on Shashidharan after the investigation also found that the former police officer used to torture his wife to acquire her wealth. The court upheld both charges against him.