The VIII Additional District Court here on Wednesday sentenced two persons of Salem (Tamil Nadu) Kasi and Sampath -- to life imprisonment for murdering a constable and a home guard in the forest near Palamaner on December 1, 2013.
The same court on Monday sentenced the two to undergo 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a housewife near Penumuru, 25 km from Chittoor, on December 16, 2013.
The two along with another person had committed both crimes in a gap of two weeks. The third offender – Raghavan -- died of blood cancer while the trial was on.
The gang’s modus operandi was to attack lonely women and lovers in forest locations and rape them after assaulting the men accompanying them. The duo reportedly confessed to the police that they had committed nearly one hundred such crimes, while only a few of them could see the light.
On December 1, 2013, the three were after a couple at Jagamarla forest of Koundinya wildlife sanctuary abutting Chittoor district and Karnataka borders, five km away from Palamaner police station. Some shepherds, who saw the pair being chased by the three, alerted the police.
Constable Jawahar Lal Naik and home guard Devendra, working as Blue Colts attached to the Palamaner police station, rushed the forest location on a motorcycle. When the police failed to report for duty the next day, the colleagues asked their family members who in turn said that they did not return home.
Later, the motorbike of Naik was found in the forest and the police traced the bodies of Naik and Deva with head injuries and stab wounds. Preliminary investigation revealed that the duo was chased to death by the perpetrators. The double murder remained a mystery for several months.
The trio was arrested in April, 2014 in connection with the gang-rape of a woman in Penumuru mandal. The Judge, Chidananda, who sentenced the duo to life imprisonment, stated in his verdict that they should be in jail till their death.
The same two have been sentenced to 20-year RI in a gang rape case on Monday
