TN man gets death sentence in Soumya murder case

THRISSUR: Govindachamy, who raped and murdered Soumya, 23, a Kochi mall employee, after throwing her out of a moving train on February 1, will be hanged, a fast track court ruled here on Friday. Soumya was returning to her home at Manjakkad near Shoranur, when the incident happened.Pronouncing the verdict, Judge K N Ravindra Babu said the accused committed the crime in a ‘diabolic manner’ deserving no leniency. He asked Govindachamy whether he had anything to say, and he said: “I am innocent; but if you decide to punish me, give me the minimum punishment. According to the prosecution, Govindachamy assaulted and pushed Soumya out of the ladies’ compartment of the Kochi-Shoranur train.Reading out the judgment, the judge said, “This is a case that shocked the entire society here. Soumya was admitted to a hospital for six days. She was in a vegetative state. She was raped, despised. This cannot be morally or legally justified. Her head was banged against the train interiors repeatedly in the most brutal fashion. The accused had several occasions to reform, but he does not seem to have changed his criminal behaviour which has been formed from the eight previous cases he had committed... persons such as the accused are a threat to womenfolk. The court does not perceive any lesser penalty in such conditions than the hardest and the highest, and the accused need not expect any leniency from the judiciary... Hence, the accused is hereby pronounced to be hanged by the neck till he is dead.” The judgment is subject to confirmation by the High Court. Guilty on many countsThrissur: Fast track court judge K N Ravindra Babu had on October 31 held Govindachamy, hailing from Vriddhachalam in Tamil Nadu, guilty of offences under IPC 302 (murder), 376)(rape), 394 (robbery) and other counts for raping and murdering Kochi mall employee Soumya on Feb 1.Apart from the death penalty, Govindachamy was given a life term under Section 376 of the IPC with a fine of `1 lakh and rigorous imprisonment for seven years under Section 397 with a fine of `1,000. The judge also asked him to pay `2 lakh as fine under Sections 302 and 376, and in default undergo an extra four years’ jail term plus another year.