'Psychopathic Killers, Threat To Society': Kerala Court Awards Death Sentence To Three For Robbing And Murdering 71-Yr-Old Woman

A Kerala Court has convicted and sentenced a woman named Rafeeka and two men Al Ameen and Shafeek to death for murdering 71-year-old Santhakumari on January 14, 2022, for committing the robbery of her gold ornaments in Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram District, Additional District and Sessions Judge, Neyyatinkara, A M Basheer found the accused guilty under Sections 120, 342, 397, 201 and Section 302 of the IPC. Ordering death sentence for the accused under Section 302 of the IPC, the Court held thus: “The motive of this psychopathic killers is to have wrongful gain and to meet that end they in furtherance of their common intention conspired together to do the illegal act. It is stated that the accused in furtherance of their common intention for committing robbery of gold ornaments confined the victim who was their neighbour into their rented house and strangled her. Relying upon Apex Court decisions, the Court stated that recovery of robbed gold ornaments of the victim within 24 hours at the instance of the confession made by the accused is also an important time factor to draw the presumption of guilt under the Evidence Act.