Nearly two years after poverty drove a man to kill his two sons and attempt suicide, he was awarded double life sentence by a court here on Thursday on murder charges.
N Aruchamy, a daily wage labourer, took the extreme step unable to cope with an adverse life — both of his sons suffered physical and mental deformities and his wife too was a mentally-challenged person.
According to prosecution, benefits from government schemes for the underprivileged also did not reach Aruchamy adding to his frustration.
On August 15, 2011, as his village celebrated Independence Day by holding a gram shabha meeting, Aruchamy had approached the village panchayat president to avail relief under government schemes. But he was turned away from the meeting citing the reason that he reached late. The same night, he locked himself and his two sons in his house, fed them endosulfan and he too consumed the poison.
While Nagaraj (11) and Periasamy (10) died on the spot, Aruchamy was saved by doctors. A week later when he was discharged from hospital, he was arrested by the Kinathukadavu police on charges of murdering his two children and attempting suicide.
The case was tried before the 4th Additional District Sessions Court Judge, G Elangovan, who awarded double life sentence for Aruchamy on Thursday. Even as the court observed that the convict took the extreme step as he considered it the only way to escape from his miseries, it ruled that a person cannot be absolved of a crime. “No person can escape after committing a crime by citing his poverty. The prosecution has proved beyond any doubt that Aruchamy murdered his sons and also attempted suicide,” Justice Elangovan noted in his 16-page judgment.
However, the court did not award any punishment for Aruchamy under charges of suicide attempt or imposed any fine considering his poverty.