THOOTHUKUDI: The Thoothukudi Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Court on Wednesday sentenced three accused to triple life imprisonment, one to double life imprisonment, and another to rigorous imprisonment in connection with the murder of a Scheduled Caste farmer in 2015.
According to sources, six persons — K Esakkimuthu (36), C Thalavai (45), M Sivaramalingam (34), P Duraimuthu, V Kasi (42) and E Kannan (45), all hailing from Vellur village — were accused of brutally murdering K Arumugaraja (42), a farmer, at Srivaikuntam on April 2, 2015.
The murder was allegedly committed after the victim refused to withdraw a complaint he had lodged against them under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in 2013.
The SC/ST Act case was pending before the Srivaikuntam court, in which all the five accused, along with Kannan, were named. During the course of the trial, one of the accused, P Duraimuthu, died.
Delivering the verdict, Sessions Judge P V Vasheeth Kumar of the Special Court for trial of cases under the SC/ST Act held the accused guilty of murder.
While pronouncing the judgment, the court sentenced Esakkimuthu, Thalavai and Sivaramalingam to triple life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 13,000 each.
The court awarded double life imprisonment to Kasi along with a fine of Rs 7,000, and sentenced Kannan to five years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 12,000.
It may be recalled that prime accused Sivaramalingam, who was also wanted in another case, had attempted to slip away from police watch by sneaking into the Thoothukudi Bar Association premises and a section of advocates sheielded him from police arrest.
However, the police contingent led by Assistant Superintendent of Police C Madhan Kumar forced him to surrender before the judicial magistrate.