In a case which is termed as the ‘rarest of the rare’, a lower court in Thiruvananthapuram ordered the prime accused in the infamous Attingal double murder case Nino Mathew to walk up the gallows to meet death.
Meanwhile, his partner in crime Anushanti was ruled to serve a double life imprisonment, both life terms running concurrently. Both convicts have also been asked to pay a fine of Rs 50 lakhs.
Anushanti and her paramour Nino, both former software engineers at Technopark in the capital city, were held guilty by the court for murdering Anushanti’s four-year-old daughter and mother-in-law and attempting to kill her husband on 16 April, 2014.
Pronouncing the sentence, the court said that Anushanti is an ‘insult’ to motherhood. However, she was not accorded a death sentence considering her condition, that she was not ‘directly’ involved in the crime and because she is a woman, stated the court in the verdict.
The court also said that Nino was cruel enough to take the life of a child who was younger than his own child.
“The evidence were collected and analysed scientifically and it proved the crime beyond doubt,” Onmanorama quoted the court. Reportedly, both the convicts heard the sentence in silence.
The murder on 16 April, 2014
Vijayamma (57), a retired government servant, and her grandaughter Swastika (4) were found dead at their residence on 16 April, 2014. Nino was accused of murdering them. He waited at the scene of crime for Swastika’s father Lijeesh to return home.
Though Nino attacked Lijeesh once he reached, the latter managed to outrun him and alerted his neighbour about the incident. This led to Nino’s arrest. According to the investigation, the couple wanted to get rid of Anushanti’s child and husband Lijeesh in order to lead a life together.
