Sajitha murder case: Chenthamara gets double life term

The Fourth Additional District and Sessions Court in Palakkad on Saturday sentenced Chenthamara, the accused in the high-profile Pothundi twin murder case, to double life imprisonment for the 2019 murder of Sajitha. The court also slapped a fine of Rs.3.25 lakh on him

He was also sentenced to five years and a Rs 50,000 fine for tampering with evidence. The sentences will run concurrently.

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Pronouncing the judgment, the court observed that the accused is likely to repeat the crime ,if allowed to walk free and added that he is not mentally unstable.There is no hope that he would change his behaviour and turn good, the court added.

Earlier on Tuesday, the court found him guilty on all counts, including murder, destruction of evidence, and unlawful entry. Chenthamara is also accused of murdering Sajitha’s husband Sudhakaran and his mother Lakshmi in January 2025 at Pothundi.

According to the prosecution, Chenthamara attacked Sajitha with a chisel at her home in Nenmara in August 2019.

Investigators said he believed that Sajitha and a neighbour, Pushpa, were responsible for his estrangement from his wife. At the time of the crime, Sajitha’s husband was working in Tamil Nadu, and her children were at school.

On getting bail in the case, Chenthamara allegedly violated bail conditions several times, returning to Nenmara and threatening residents.

He allegedly committed a brutal double murder, killing Sudhakaran (54) and his elderly mother Lakshmi (75) at their Pothundi residence on January 27. He then fled to the nearby forest area, from where the Kerala police arrested him on January 29. His bail in the Sajitha case was subsequently revoked.

The trial for Sajitha’s murder, which took place in Nenmara in 2019 , lasted nearly six years and involved testimony from 50 witnesses, including Chenthamara’s estranged wife. The prosecution presented extensive evidence, including forensic findings and over 30 official documents.