Soumya murder: Man sentenced to imprisonment till death

A man, convicted of killing a 22-year-old engineer last year when she resisted rape, has been sentenced to imprisonment till his death by a special court.
The court, which had convicted Satish (25), hailing from Kashekodi in Bantwal on December 2, announced the quantum of sentence yesterday.
An amount of Rs 30,000 also was imposed on him under different sections of Indian Penal Code by Judge H S Pushpanjali Devi. The court ordered the amount to be paid to the family of the victim Soumya.
The court directed the Legal Services Authority to disburse maximum eligible compensation to the family as per compensation scheme 2013.

Public prosecutor of the case Shivaprasad Alva K had said in his arguments that if the accused was awarded life term he may get released after 14 years or earlier and might create problems for Soumya's family and other witnesses in the case. Hence he had sought life imprisonment till death for Satish.
Soumya (22), belonging to Baltila village in Bantwal, was dragged away by Satish while she was walking home on February 24, 2013 and murdered when she tried to resist a rape attempt. Her body was tossed into a pond by the accused.
She was returning from Udupi where she was staying with a relative. She had secured a job in Manipal near Udupi just two weeks prior to the murder.

Statements of 26 witnesses were recorded during the trial besides medical reports and police investigation reports.