The Madras High Court has acquitted 15 persons who were sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court in connection with a triple murder in Dharmapuri in 1998. A Division Bench of Justices S. Nagamuthu and Anita Sumanth passed the order pointing out discrepancies in filing FIRs.
The FIRs did not carry continuous serial numbers, though the police claimed that all the accused were arrested and cases registered against them on the same day. Giving the benefit of doubt to the accused, the Bench noted that no weapon, either revolver or country-made gun, was recovered from the possession of the accused though eyewitnesses claim that the victims were shot in the chest.
According to prosecution, on January 24, 1998, Mathimuthu, Mani and Viswanathan were killed in Mallapuram village of Dharmapuri, when they were proceeding to a police station in connection with a complaint lodged against them. It was alleged that the accused came in cars with revolver and sickles and murdered the victims. Charges were framed against 32 persons. Three persons died during the pendency of the case, while one person was discharged.
13 acquitted earlier
On April 29, 2016, a Sessions Court in Dharmapuri acquitted 13 persons in the case and convicted 15 others. The Bench said, “Though three persons have been killed in a cruel manner, we are unable to convict any of the accused on account of the inherent weakness and contradictions on part of the prosecution.”
