A former jawan of the Central Reserve Police Force, Metta Sankara Rao, was handed out capital punishment by a court here on Monday for killing seven persons, including two of his own children, at Mettapeta of Jalumuru mandal in Srikakulam district.
The jawan was accused of committing the crime when he was released on bail in connection with charges of murdering his wife.
He returned to his village on November 30, 2010 and killed his children Manasa (7) and Diwakar (5) when they were asleep.
He then placed their decapitated heads at the Someswara temple near Srimukhalingam.
Later, he killed his ‘friend' Pyla Venkatarao who helped him in committing the grisly act of shifting the heads to the temple.
Not stopping at that, Sankara Rao killed Pyla Lakshmanarao, Metta Yerrayya, U. Parvati and Boddepalli Damayanti who reportedly deposed against him in court in the case relating to his wife's murder. As he went on the rampage the whole night, panic-stricken villagers ran for safety.
Additional First Class Judge K.V. Ramanaji Rao, who imposed the death sentence under IPC Section 302, sent details of the case to the A.P. High Court for confirming the punishment. Earlier, Additional Public Prosecutor K. Jeevaratnam sought capital punishment for Sankara Rao.
The Judge also sentenced the ex-jawan to 10 years' imprisonment for destroying the properties of the people with bombs.
Several people from Jalumuru mandal were present in the court hall to hear the verdict. Boddepalli Koteswara Rao, a villager, urged the High Court to confirm the death sentence on the ground that people like Sankara Rao posed a threat to society.
Senior advocate Jallu Tirupati Rao said that it was a historic judgment in Srikakulam district since death sentence was handed out after a gap of several decades.
