The Additional District and Sessions Court – VI in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday found two people guilty of the murder of Vellarada native Praveen Kumar a decade ago.
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Judge Ajith Kumar K.N. found Vijayan, 45, of Vellarada, and Lowlin, 38, of Anappara guilty of murdering Praveen, who hailed from Arattukuzhy, for tipping the police off on illegal sand-mining at Vellarada. The quantum of sentence for the duo will be pronounced on Saturday.
Lorry confiscated
According to the prosecution, led by public prosecutor M. Salahudeen, Praveen was targeted by the duo since his tip-off had led to the police confiscating one of the lorries used by Vijayan to transport sand.
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Praveen and his friend Mohanan were attacked at the Arattukuzhy junction on January 9, 2012. On witnessing the incident, Praveen’s uncle Binukumar made a futile bid to defend him and was stabbed on his left thigh. However, he sustained a stab wound on his left thigh. Praveen was stabbed on his chest and stomach and left bleeding on the road. Despite being rushed to the Government Medical College Hospital here, his life could not be saved.
Hostile witnesses
The accused were apprehended from Karakkonam by a team led by the then Vellarada police inspector N. Jiji two days later. During the trial, four witnesses, including Binukumar, who was the prime witness, turned hostile.
A total of 43 witnesses were cross-examined and eight objects presented as evidence by the prosecution.