Shyam P V, Maheer Haneef & T Ramavarman , TNN | Nov 12, 2011, 05.18AM IST
THRISSUR: A one-handed beggar who pushed a woman passenger returning home from work out of a passenger train at night when she resisted molestation, and subsequently raped and killed her while she lay injured near the tracks, was sentenced to death by a fast track court on Friday.
The beggar Govinda Chamy (30) was found guilty of rape and murder by special court judge K N Raveendra Babu who, calling it "the rarest of the rare cases", observed that "women in society will be under threat if the accused is not given the death sentence". The judge also fined him Rs 1 lakh.
On February 1 this year, 23-year-old Soumya was travelling in an empty ladies' compartment to Shornur after a day's work as a sales girl at a mall in Kochi. When Soumya resisted Govindachamy, he pushed her out of the moving train near Vallathol Nagar station. He then jumped out and raped her. Soumya was found unconscious and moved to a hospital but she died on February 6.
From a total of 154 witnesses, statements of 82 were recorded before the court. Besides that, 105 documents and 43 pieces of evidence were produced before the court. The prosecution had produced documented evidence that Govindachamy was a habitual offender and was convicted in eight cases in TN from 2004 to 2008. The prosecution also contended that absence of eyewitnesses should not be a reason for withholding maximum punishment "as the man had no qualms of conscience in committing rape and murder together".
Soumya's mother Sumathy, who broke down in the court, said she was happy the murderer was sentenced to death. Hundreds of people, including social activists and politicians, had waited anxiously outside the court since morning to hear the sentence.
Govinda Chamy's lawyer B A Aloor said he will appeal against this verdict in the high court. The case attained a sinister dimension after Aloor revealed during the trial that he was contracted for a large sum of money by a network of criminals from Tamil Nadu, with links to the Mumbai underground, to defend Govinda Chamy.
The beggar Govinda Chamy (30) was found guilty of rape and murder by special court judge K N Raveendra Babu who, calling it "the rarest of the rare cases", observed that "women in society will be under threat if the accused is not given the death sentence". The judge also fined him Rs 1 lakh.
On February 1 this year, 23-year-old Soumya was travelling in an empty ladies' compartment to Shornur after a day's work as a sales girl at a mall in Kochi. When Soumya resisted Govindachamy, he pushed her out of the moving train near Vallathol Nagar station. He then jumped out and raped her. Soumya was found unconscious and moved to a hospital but she died on February 6.
From a total of 154 witnesses, statements of 82 were recorded before the court. Besides that, 105 documents and 43 pieces of evidence were produced before the court. The prosecution had produced documented evidence that Govindachamy was a habitual offender and was convicted in eight cases in TN from 2004 to 2008. The prosecution also contended that absence of eyewitnesses should not be a reason for withholding maximum punishment "as the man had no qualms of conscience in committing rape and murder together".
Soumya's mother Sumathy, who broke down in the court, said she was happy the murderer was sentenced to death. Hundreds of people, including social activists and politicians, had waited anxiously outside the court since morning to hear the sentence.
Govinda Chamy's lawyer B A Aloor said he will appeal against this verdict in the high court. The case attained a sinister dimension after Aloor revealed during the trial that he was contracted for a large sum of money by a network of criminals from Tamil Nadu, with links to the Mumbai underground, to defend Govinda Chamy.
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