THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A Kollam man, who was accused of strangling his 26-year-old female lover in a city lodge in 2022, was sentenced to life by the Additional Sessions Court.
The punishment was handed over to Praveen by judge Siju Shaikh, who also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the convict.
Praveen was accused of murdering Gayathri, a native of Veeranakavu near Kattakada in a lodge near Thampanoor on March 5, 2022.
The two were employees of a city-based jewellery shop and were in a relationship. Gayathri entered into the relationship without knowing that Praveen was already married and had two children.
Praveen initially wanted to keep their relationship clandestine. But under pressure from Gayathri, he revealed that he was married, but agreed to divorce his wife to marry Gayathri.
Praveen secretly married Gayathri in a private function in a church in Thiruvananthapuram in a bid to placate her. However, Praveen’s wife got to know about the incident and she complained to the jewellery management about the matter.
Following this the management transferred Praveen to Tamil Nadu. Praveen later decided to sever his relationship with Gayathri, but the latter was dead against it.
As there was no exit option available, Praveen decided to do away with Gayathri. The two took a room in the lodge where he strangled her using her shawl. Though there was no eyewitness to the incident, the court relied on circumstantial and scientific evidence to arrive at a conclusion.