Kollam: Guilty in Anoop murder to be sentenced today

Kollam: The Kollam principal district and sessions court on Wednesday held all the three accused guilty in the Nettayam Anoop murder case of 2010  and posted the case to Thursday for  pronouncing the sentence.The  accused are Anoop Khan, 29, of Mambutty house, Nettayam,  Binu, 34, of Padinjarayil veedu, Kuranganpara near Pallickal, and Ajayan, 29, of Poovanathpoyka veedu, Kalarippacha. They were found  guilty under sections of IPC 302 for murder and 34 for crime intended for a common aim. Anoop, 30, of Melevila Veedu, Muthiyakkonam, Nettayam, Pallikkal was murdered by the accused on July 8, 2010 following a dispute.

The prosecution pleaded before the court to consider the case as rarest  of the rare  and  award death sentence to the prime accused Anoop Khan. He was just 22 years old when he murdered Nettayam Anoop. Khan was also accused of murdering two other persons the same year  without prior enmity.

Anoop was murdered after  a bout between Anoop’s friend Kamarudeen and the second accused Binu. The accused were having a booze party at Erappanchira near Nettayam which was questioned by  local resident Kamarudeen. Following this, Anoop, Kamarudeen’s friend, reached the spot in his mini lorry and he was  murdered by the gang.

The prosecution said that that the prime accused  tortured the victim with an intention to kill him.  Anoop Khan is currently convicted and  under life imprisonment for the murder of  Gopakumar, a bar employee in Kottarakkara. He was also an accused in the murder of Shijad,  an employee with Kulathupuzha grama panchayat, but was acquitted by the court giving him the benefit of doubt. Based on intelligence report that Anoop Khan would dodge the police if he gets a chance, he was brought to court and back to the district jail under tight security.