Sajitha murder case: Chenthamara gets double life term
He was also sentenced to five years and a Rs 50,000 fine for tampering with evidence. The sentences will run concurrently.
The Additional District and Sessions Court-IV in Palakkad on Monday found 61-year-old Chenthamara guilty of murdering his neighbour, Sudhakaran, and Sudhakaran’s mother, Lakshmi, at Boyan Colony, Thiruthampadam, Pothundi, in Nenmara.
Additional Sessions Judge IV Kenneth George convicted Chenthamara under Sections 103(1) (murder) and 126(2) (wrongful restraint) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for brutally stabbing Sudhakaran (55) and his 75-year-old mother, Lakshmi, to death.
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The court will hear final arguments on the quantum of sentence on Wednesday, following which it will pronounce the sentence.
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According to the prosecution, Chenthamara hacked Sudhakaran and Lakshmi to death on January 27, 2025, shortly after being released on bail in connection with the earlier murder of Sudhakaran’s 35-year-old wife, Sajitha.
The prosecution alleged that the motive stemmed from Chenthamara’s suspicion that Sajitha and her family were responsible for his wife and daughter leaving him.
Earlier, on August 31, 2019, Chenthamara allegedly broke into Sajitha’s house and murdered her. He was subsequently convicted in that case and sentenced to double life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs. 3.25 lakh.
The trial in the double murder case lasted 70 days, from February 23 to May 6, 2026. The prosecution cited 132 witnesses, of whom 81 were examined during the trial. Four witnesses, including one of the accused’s relatives, turned hostile during the proceedings.
Following the verdict, Sajitha’s daughters, Atulya and Akhila, demanded the death penalty for Chenthamara, alleging that he threatened them inside the courtroom.
Akhila said the accused showed no remorse and even challenged the court to hang him. Stating that they had lost both their father and grandmother, she said he deserved the maximum punishment for the crime.
Reports said the accused showed no remorse. When asked whether he had anything to say, he reportedly told the court defiantly, “Hang me.”
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