HC upholds death for man who killed own family, raped daughter

KOCHI: The high court on Wednesday upheld the death penalty awarded to Reji Kumar alias Reji (40) of Karoor near Pala who, over a little over two weeks, strangled his wife Lissy and four children to death, and raped his 12-year-old daughter before killing her, to live with his lover Baby alias Usha.
A division bench, comprising Justices T R Ramachandran Nair and A V Ramakrishna Pillai, confirmed the death sentence awarded by a sessions court in 2009.It said the accused didn’t repent the murders and he was beyond rehabilitation. After killing his wife, Reji even had sex with his lover on the same night, the court pointed out in the order.
The lover, mother of a 13-year-old, had become estranged with him when the murders came to light and her statement stood against him during the trial. A movie, titled ‘Manushya Mrugam’, was made in 2011 loosely based on the murders.
Reji, a post-graduate, was employed by one Aboobacker Siddique, a cable network operator, at his rubber plantation at Amayur, Palakkad. He was living at Amayur in a rented house with Lissy and two of his younger children, Ananya (3) and Amal (10). His two daughters, Amalu (12) and Amulya (9), were studying at St Joseph’s UP School at Ramapuram in Pala and were staying in a hostel.
Reji shared a physical relationship with Usha whom he met while working at the plantation. The prosecution case is that Reji strangled Lissy to death on July 8 while he killed Ananya and Amal on July 13. He then brought Amalu and Amulya home on the pretext of his mother’s death. He raped Amalu and strangled her to death on July 23. He killed Amulya too on the day.
The bodies of Amalu and Amulya were found inside the house on the same day while Lissy’s body was found in the septic tank on July 25. The bodies of Ananya and Amal were found buried in an adjacent property.
Police had found semen on Amalu’s dress and had sent its samples, along with a vaginal swab, for chemical examination and later for DNA matching. The prosecution submitted that the semen samples matched Reji’s DNA.
Additional director general of prosecution Tom Jose Padinjarekkara submitted that the accused is a matured and educated man who, instead of protecting his family, killed them in a pre-planned, cruel manner.
Reji Kumar strangled his wife Lissy and four children to death, and raped his 12-year-old daughter before killing her, to live with his lover