In a first-of-its-kind case in Kerala, the Additional Sessions Court in Kollam district on Monday, October 11, found Sooraj, a man from Kollam, guilty of killing his 25-year-old wife using a cobra.
Sooraj was accused of hiring a viper and then a cobra and setting it onto his wife in order to kill her and now, the court has held that he is guilty of her murder.
Sooraj was found ben found guilty under four sections of the Indian Penal Code- 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 327 (Causing hurt to extort property) 201
On Monday morning, Sooraj was brought to the court by a large police force, including the security cover of armed police. A huge crowd of people had gathered outside the court right from the morning. Even the corridors of the court were packed, as people gathered to get to know more about the verdict.
Uthra’s father Vijayasenan and her brother Vishnu, were inside the courtroom listening to the verdict.
At the start of the proceedings, the magistrate asked Sooraj if he had anything to say, but Sooraj said he had nothing to say. Prosecutor G Mohanraj then asked the magistrate to consider this a rarest of rare crime that was both cruel and demonic, and asked that Sooraj be given the death penalty.
25-year-old Uthra, a woman who was living with a few disabilities, was found dead at her house in Anchal of Kollam district on May 7, 2020, and it was learnt that she had died of a snake bite.
The local residents and neighbours had spoken about the 'sarppa kopam' (wrath of the snake) against Uthra, as she was injured in a similar incident at her husband's house in Adoor earlier that year.
In March 2020, she was bitten by a viper and in May 2020, she was bitten by a cobra. However, her parents suspected foul play in their daughter's death, and filed a complaint with the police. This led to the unravelling of a macabre murder, one that took extensive planning.
The police in their investigation found that Uthra's husband Sooraj had been plotting the crime for some time and that he had ‘hired’ snakes twice from Suresh, a handler from Kalluvathukkal of Kollam.
First in March 2020, he hired a viper snake and ensured that Uthra was bitten by the snake. Uthra was in a bed-ridden situation for 52 days and had to undergo a plastic surgery after getting bitten by the viper.
Kerala police had told the court that Sooraj rented a cobra again when Uthra was back home for Rs 10,000. Making Uthra get bitten again with a more venomous snake while she had still not recovered from the earlier attempt amounts to brutal murder, the police had said.
Sooraj was arrested on May 24, two weeks after Uthra’s death, and snake handler Suresh later turned approver in the case.
A few weeks after Sooraj's arrest, the crime branch also arrested his father, mother and sister. They were charged for conspiracy, domestic violence and destruction of evidence.
A portion of gold that Uthra had brought with her was found buried in soil behind their house in Adoor and was recovered.
On July 13, 2020, Sooraj broke down in front of the media and admitted that he committed the crime. He was brought to the evidence collection at his house in Adoor by the Forest department.
A postmortem and DNA analysis of the snake was done in this case. The police also conducted a ‘dummy’ test in September 2021 to recreate the scene of the crime and see how the cobra would have bitten Uthra.
The investigation into the case was led by Crime branch DySP A Ashokan. The team had submitted a 1,000-page chargesheet in the case before Punalur Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in August. G Mohanraj was appointed the special prosecutor for the trial.
S Harisankar, then Kollam rural SP, had told the media that Sooraj never showed any guilt throughout their proceedings. "We perceive Sooraj as a seasoned criminal without any guilt. He never admitted anything more than the evidence we presented. He gave statements in a calculated manner," the officer said. "We had gathered maximum circumstantial evidence that include scientific, experimentation, forensic, DNA analysis. We have also worked with many other departments. So we were able to submit a charge sheet within the time limit," he added.
Uthra's family had alleged domestic violence and dowry harassment by Sooraj and his family, and alleged that is what subsequently led to her murder.
The couple had married in March 2018 and they had an 18-months-old son when Uthra died. The child was then taken into the care of Uthra's parents.
Source: thenewsminute.com156365, Staff, October 11, 2021
Kerala court convicts man for killing wife using snake
Kollam Additional Sessions Court on Monday found Sooraj, the prime accused in Uthra murder case, guilty and the quantum of sentence will be pronounced on Wednesday.
The court found him guilty under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the IPC.
Sooraj was brought to the court around 12 noon and he remained impassive during the proceedings . When the chargesheet was read, the accused said he has nothing to say. Prosecution had demanded capital punishment pointing out the brutal nature of the crime and Uthra's family said they are grateful to the investigating team and prosecution. "We want him to get maximum punishment," said Uthra's brother Vishnu.
‘Biggest challenge was to prove snakebite was not natural’
Sooraj had used a cobra to murder his wife and it was his 2nd attempt that took the 25-year old's wife. Uthra’s body was found on May 7 at her home in Anchal and she had survived an earlier snakebite and a viper was used for that. Her husband had paid Rs 10,000 for the snakes from a handler, who later turned approver. The investigative team had conducted the autopsy of the snake to confirm that the DNA of the same snake was found in the bottle in which Sooraj kept the cobra. A dummy trial was also carried out to collect scientific evidence that proved the bite was not natural but induced.
‘Unconventional methods to prove Uthra was murdered’
Considering the rare nature of the case, the investigating team had to go for some unconventional methods to prove Uthra was murdered.
A team of officials from Animal Husbandry, Forest and Police Departments along with forensic experts dug out the carcass of cobra and conducted its autopsy. Though it was buried around 20 days back, its outer skin, scales, fangs and hood were found intact and it was confirmed that the reptile was a cobra. Later, the DNA of the same cobra was found in the jar in which Sooraj had kept the snake and the DNA match turned out an important piece of evidence.
In order to prove the bite was induced and not natural, the Crime Branch officials conducted a dummy trial at Forest Training Institute in Arippa. The cobra was let loose on the life-size dummy and a portion of its hand was wrapped in raw chicken meat warmed to body temperature. The measurement of natural bites and those induced by pressing the cobra on its head were taken.
The prosecution had submitted the report showing the difference in fang width in natural and induced cases. The fang width in the bite mark found in Uthra's body was similar to induced and based on the trial it was also argued that consecutive bites on the same place are not possible in snakebite cases.
Source: The Hindu, Staff, October 11.2021
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