The Kozhikode First Additional Sessions Court here, which tried the case of murder of Adithi S. Namboodiri, has awarded three years of rigorous imprisonment to her father and fined him Rs.1 lakh, while her stepmother has been sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment.
The prosecution could not prove the murder charge against them as they had neither motive nor intention to kill the girl. The case related to the child, a Class I pupil of the West Hill B.E.M. Upper Primary School, being brought dead to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital on April 30, 2013.
A post-mortem report said the cause of the death was neurogenic shock. But it also mentioned of a head injury, prolonged physical torture, marks made by a sharp object and burns on her body.
Delivering the judgment here on Wednesday, Judge A. Sankaran Nair found Subramanian Namboodiri, who was a priest at the Bilathikulam Siva temple here, (first accused) and his wife, Ramla Beegum aka Devika, (second accused), guilty under Sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Juvenile Justice Act.
Both the accused are in judicial custody after they had jumped bail. They have been sent to the Kannur Central Prison. If the first accused failed to remit the fine amount as compensation to brother of Adithi, Arun, he would have to undergo another six months of rigorous imprisonment.
Even though there were no eye witnesses in the case, the prosecution mainly relied upon the deposition of Arun, who said that their father had cruelly struck his sister several times with a rough wooden plank on that fateful day.
Public prosecutor Shibu George appeared on behalf of the prosecution. The doctor who examined the girl, Childline activists, relatives, neighbours, and teachers were key witnesses in the case. Subramanian had married Ramla six months after his first wife, Sreeja, died in a motorcycle accident. The children had stayed with them for more than two years. Later the couple had rented a house at North Bilathikulam.
Prosecution could not prove murder charge as the accused had no intention to kill the girl
