The First Additional District and Sessions Court here which found a couple guilty of killing their seven-year-old son, awarded rigorous life imprisonment to the boy’s foster-father and four-year imprisonment to the mother.
First Additional District and Sessions Judge Gopalkrishna Kolli, who had declared that the couple, Manikanthan C. Vijayan (28) and his wife Nagamani alias Nagavalli (30), were guilty of killing their son in his order on Monday, announced the sentence on Tuesday.
Public Prosecutor D.A. Bhandekar told The Hindu that along with rigorous life imprisonment, Manikanthan had been asked to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000 and Nagamani Rs. 1,000. Nagamani, who has been in prison since 2011, will be completing her prison term in a few more months, he said.
Nagamani, a native of a village in Ambattur taluk of Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu, allegedly had an affair with a youth named Hari. However, after she got pregnant, Hari had dumped her. Subsequently, Nagamani had developed friendship with Manikanthan, a native of Chennai, which turned into love resulting in marriage. Nagamani gave birth to Saikumar and later to another boy.
Having migrated from Chennai, the couple had rented a house at Sheela Colony on Mantur Road in Hubballi. A painter by profession, Manikanthan used to ill-treat his foster son Saikumar. On March 25, 2011, Saikumar breathed his last after being beaten up badly by his father. On confirming his death, the couple had dug up the floor of the rented house to bury him and had later disappeared.
The landlord gave the house on rent to another family. The new tenants on seeing ants lining up along the floor got suspicious and alerted the landlord. The police began investigation. On April 8, the floor of the house was dug up and the body of the boy found. Later, the police traced the couple to Chennai and arrested them.
The police had subsequently filed a charge-sheet against Manikanthan under Section 302 (Punishment for Murder) and 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the Indian Penal Code and against Nagamani under Section 201.
