The Ernakulam Additional Sessions Court on Wednesday awarded death sentence to Thomas Alva Edison, a 28-year-old contractor hailing from Thoothukkudi, for killing three workers by setting them on fire.
Pronouncing the sentence, Judge E.M. Muhammed Ibrahim held that the multiple-murder committed by the convict would come within the category of ‘rarest of rare’ cases that warranted death penalty.
‘Premeditated’
“It is clear from the available evidence that the multiple murder committed by the accused was premeditated, diabolic and planned. It was committed in an extremely brutal manner,” the judge observed.
Compensation
The court also directed Additional Public Prosecutor Premson Paul Manjamattom to render necessary assistance to the legal heirs of the victims to avail compensation under Section 3 of the Kerala Victim Compensation Scheme 2014.
The workers, Dessi, Vijay and Suresh, were set ablaze while they were sleeping in their room in Kombara in the wee hours of February 21, 2009. While Dessi and Vijay died on the spot, Suresh succumbed to his burns a couple of days later. Andrews, another person staying in the same room, survived the murder attempt with 65 per cent burns. Edison, who had undertaken subcontract works of a company named Kaveri Biltech, committed the crime with the deliberate intention of getting rid of the workers to avoid payment of their wage arrears.
Edison went into hiding during the trial of the case in 2012 after being released on bail and landed in police custody in April this year.
Hospitals criticised
The court also criticised the private hospitals in the city that refused to admit the victims when they were taken there in autorickshaws. Following this, the victims had to be taken to the Ernakulam General Hospital.
“It is to be pointed out that the conduct of the three private hospitals are blameworthy and against medical ethics,” it noted, while directing authorities concerned to issue strict direction to all private hospitals to give proper attention to poor victims who are brought in at odd hours.
