R. Selvi, mother of Manoharan whose review petition challenging the upholding of the death sentence in the 2010 Coimbatore siblings’ murder case was dismissed by the Supreme Court on Thursday, said that she will move a clemency petition before the President.
Talking over phone from her house at Angalakurichi near Pollachi in Coimbatore, Selvi in choked voice claimed her son was not guilty. She said Manoharan was her only son.
Manoharan, who was earlier lodged in Coimbatore Central Prison, was shifted to the Cuddalore Central Prison around six months ago, after a policewoman on escort duty claimed that he proposed to her.
Welcoming the verdict, DGP (Government Railway Police) C. Sylendra Babu, who was the Coimbatore City Police Commissioner during the murder of the siblings, said that the death penalty upheld by the Supreme Court will create fear in the minds of people who commit crime against children.
“This is a success of the entire team of police that followed the case from the trial court to apex court. I am proud of the police officers who investigated the case,” he said.
Inspector S. Muthimalai, who was in the investigation team as a sub-inspector, said that the apex court verdict reaffirmed that justice prevails. “The victory of the prosecution is a motivation for the police force. This will remain as a model case for the police as there was no eyewitness to the crime. The conviction was awarded based on material and circumstantial evidences elicited by the police. The verdict has also healed the pain we underwent during the investigation,” he said.
The siblings, a 10-year-old girl and her seven-year-old brother, had gone missing on October 29, 2010. While the body of the girl recovered from Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) canal at Vavipalayam in Palladam taluk on October 29, the boy’s body was recovered from the PAP canal at Kedimedu near Pollachi on the next day. Another accused Mohanakrishnan was shot dead by the police after he reportedly attempted to escape from police escort on November 9, 2010.
