KARUR: The District Principal Sessions Court on Tuesday awarded seven terms of life imprisonment to each of the nine persons in the petrol bomb attack case that claimed the lives of seven youth on Thevar Jayanthi Day on October 31, 2012, in the Chinthamani area in Madurai.
The convicts were Manikandan (37), Karthick (36), Chandrasekar (31), Sonaiya (31), Nagaraj (31), Muthukaruppan (31), Mohan (38), Vignesh (33) and Santhosh (33) of Chinthamanipatti in Madurai. The court also imposed a fine of `3 lakh each under section 302 IPC, and 10-year imprisonment on 13 counts, along with a fine of `50,000 fine each under section 307 IPC. The court also directed that the fine amount be provided to the families of the victims.
Of the 11 accused arrested in the case, one of the accused, Muthu Viji, died during the course of the trial, while another accused, Ramar Pandi, was hacked to death in February 2024, when he was returning to Madurai after appearing before Karur court.
The incident occurred on October 31, 2012, when a group of youth were returning in a car from Pasumpon after attending the Thevar Jayanthi celebration in Ramanathapuram district. The vehicle was intercepted at Chinthamani near Madurai Bypass check post by a gang that hurled petrol bombs at the vehicle and fled from the scene.
A total of 18 persons, hailing from Puliankulam near Viraganoor, were injured. Seven persons died in the hospital later. Based on the direction of the Madras HC, the case was transferred to the Karur Court, considering the safety of the accused, the prosecution said.