A Poonamallee court on Wednesday sentenced a 26-year-old aeronautical engineer to death for the murder and robbery of a pawnbroker at Nerkundram in 2012.
Handing down the sentence, the Third Additional District and Sessions Judge, Poonamallee, S.Mahalakshmi, said it was a “rarest of rare” case and hence she was sentencing the accused to death by hanging.
As the accused was awarded the death sentence, the court was not imposing any fine on him, the Judge said. She also observed that youngsters should use their education to work hard and come up in life.
The prosecution case was that the accused, Ramajayam of Parangipet, Chidambaram, posed himself as a customer at Balaji Jewellery and Pawnshop at Nerkundram on April 14, 2012 when the victim Gunaram alias Ganesh was alone in his shop.
When Gunaram went inside the locker room to bring jewels, Ramajayam stabbed him and slit his throat. Later, he looted 32 numbers of covering jewellery and escaped. The Maduravoyal police registered a case. The CCTV camera in the shop helped them in the probe.
“The CCTV footage was the main evidence. However, a person who runs a chit fund in the area had also seen the accused and the victim talking in the shop,” said Andaman K.Murugan, Additional Public Prosecutor.
A month after the incident, Ramajayam allegedly attempted to rob a woman after stabbing her within the Pallikaranai police station limits and was arrested. Investigation revealed that he was involved in the Nerkundram murder and robbery.
A charge sheet was filed against the accused for offences under 449 (House trespass in order to commit offence punishable with death), 302 (Murder), 392 (Robbery) and 404 (Dishonest misappropriation of property possessed by deceased person at the time of his death) IPC.
The Judge also observed that if only the accused had escaped after the Pallikaranai incident, he would have possibly committed similar crimes. “A deterrent punishment should be awarded to such persons.”
This is the second death sentence awarded by the court. In 2013, a grocery shop owner was awarded the capital punishment for murdering a woman and hiding her body in a freezer box.
