Kottayam: The additional district and sessions court, Pala, on Friday awarded life sentence to Satheesh Babu, 38, accused in the sister Amala murder case.
The court, which on Wednesday held him guilty of rape and murder of sister Amala, 69, of Lisuex convent at Pala on the midnight of September 16, 2015, also slapped a fine of Rs 3 lakh. In default, he has to undergo another three years in jail.
The court awarded him 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in the rape case and a fine of Rs 50,000. In case of default, he has to serve two more years in jail.
He was also sentenced to three years’ rigorous imprisonment in the house-breaking case and slapped with a fine of Rs 30,000.
He has to serve one more year jail term in case of default. He has already served 1, 182 days in prison.
The special public prosecutor had argued for life-long imprisonment for him. The defence lawyers requested the court for a reduced term in view of the condition of the aged mother and the age of the accused.
According to the prosecution, the accused who trespassed into the convent to commit theft found light in the room of sister Amala. Thinking that she had found him, he murdered her by smashing her head with a hard object.
Satheesh, a native of Kasaragod, is now undergoing imprisonment in the central jail after he was awarded six years of rigorous imprisonment in a theft case at Bharananganam Assisi Sneha Bhavan in 2015.
