Kerala: Man awarded death sentence for murdering couple over property dispute

A District and Sessions Court in Kerala's Alappuzha district on Wednesday awarded death sentence to a 38-year-old man for killing a couple over property dispute in front of their child.

Judge A Badarudheen convicted the man named Sudheesh under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

In 2018, Sudheesh, belonging to Alappuzha's Mavelikara municipality area, killed a man named Biju and his wife Sasikala in front of their child following a property dispute.

According to the prosecution, Sudheesh entered into an altercation with the couple and in a fit of rage hit Biju with an iron rod. When Sasikala tried to intervene, she was also attacked with the rod and bricks, following which the couple succumbed to their injuries.

A nine-year-old son, an eye-witness to the incident, ran away from the scene after he tried to assault him, too. The prosecution had produced a total of 33 witnesses, including the boy, during the trial in the case.

The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial against an individual accused of breaking the law.