Lack of proof saves Aditi parents noose

KOZHIKODE: The prosecution failure to prove the intention behind the murder of Aditi  saved  the accused at the Additional District Sessions Court here on Thursday. The girl who was admitted to a private hospital had third-degree burns on the lower parts of her body, including private parts. But the post-mortem report and the circumstantial evidence and witness statements failed to prove that these injuries were intentionally made by the duo to murder the girl.   Though there was an attempt to bury the girl by the parents, the public who gathered on the spot prevented it. Later they also  attacked the house of Subramanyan Namboodiri, her father.

Ramla BegumDuring  cross-examination, Arun, brother of Aditi,  told the court that the father and step-mother had taken them for tour programmes to various places. He also said that it was the parents who took them to school every day. Moreover the burn injuries at the pelvic zone was old. During the trial, Arun also denied that  the girl was repeatedly beaten by the step-mother. Though police submitted a wooden rod in the court used for beating the girl, Arun said the step-mother used the rod only once.

After Subramanyan Namboodiri’s  first wife Sreeja died in an accident, he  married Ramla Begum, a Muslim, converting her to Hinduism as Devika Antharjanam.    There were reports that Subramanyan Namboodiri never liked Aditi as he had  a feeling that she was not his child.   Devika Antharjanam had married thrice and also was accused in a temple theft case. There were also allegations that she was trying to siphon off an insurance policy amount of Sreeja deposited in the name of Aditi and Arun.