Man acquitted as in-laws turn hostile in wife’s murder case in TN
TIRUNELVELI: The Additional District and Sessions Court in Tirunelveli recently acquitted a 42-year-old man and his mother in connection with the alleged murder of his wife in 2017, after key prosecution witnesses, including the deceased woman's father, who was the original complainant, turned hostile during the trial.
The accused persons were identified as G Johnpaul (42) and his mother G Anthonyammal (63), residents of Ubakaramathapuram. The deceased was identified as Pon Esakki, Johnpaul's wife. In 2017, Esakki's father P Muthusamy lodged a complaint at Thisayanvilai police station, accusing his son-in-law of murdering his daughter.
Pon Esakki and Johnpaul got married in 2017. They had two children. There was a difference of opinion between the couple from the beginning of their marriage. On May 7, 2017, Esakki went to her father's house following an argument with her husband. After a few days the couple reconciled and Esakki was dropped off at her husband's house. However, on May 14, 2017, Muthusamy was informed about his daughter's death. After committing the alleged crime, Johnpaul surrendered before the police. "I saw her body with cut injuries lying in a pool of blood," Muthusamy had stated in his complaint.
In the final report, the police also charged Esakki's mother-in-law Anthonyammal, alleging that she had abetted her son in committing the crime. Police arrested Johnpaul and Anthonyammal on May 15 and May 23 respectively. They were later released on bail.
However, during the trial, all the key prosecution witnesses including Muthusamy, his wife Esakkiammal, and neighbour Pushpalatha, turned hostile. In his judgment, Additional District and Sessions Judge V Padmanabhan observed, "According to prosecution, PW1 (Muthusamy) set the law in motion. He lodged the complaint as soon as the incident happened. However, during trial, the PW1 has stated that he did not know who murdered Esakki. The PW2 (Esakkiammal) echoed the same version."