THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The trial in the sensational rape and murder of a Latvian tourist near Kovalam beach in 2018 will begin at the Principal Sessions Court here on Wednesday.
The 33-year-old woman, who had arrived here for ayurvedic treatment, was found dead in a remotely located mangrove at Vazhamuttom near Kovalam after she went missing from Kovalam beach on March 14, 2018. The police have charged two local residents, Umesh and Udayan, for murdering the woman.
The case is that the duo, who were into drug peddling, befriended the victim and lured her to the place offering ganja. She was raped, later murdered and the body was discarded in the bushes.
The accused were chargesheeted in 2019, but the trial did not start. Following this the victim’s sister moved HC, which directed the trial court to fast-track the proceedings. The trial will conclude on June 21. G Mohan Raj, who successfully conducted the Vismaya case, is the special public prosecutor in the case.