A young man has been condemned to rigorous life imprisonment by the Thiruvananthapuram Additional District and Sessions Court V for the murder of a woman that occurred three years ago in a Thampanoor lodge. The convicted individual, Praveen from Kollam, was also ordered to pay a fine of ₹1 lakh.
Judge Siju Sheik delivered the decisive verdict, finding Praveen guilty of the murder of Gayathri, a resident of Veeranakavu near Kattakada, on March 5, 2022.
The prosecution presented evidence detailing that Praveen, despite being married with two children, had initiated a relationship with Gayathri while both worked at a local jewellery store. Upon discovering his marital status, Gayathri reportedly pressed him to divorce his wife and marry her legally.
To appease Gayathri, Praveen orchestrated a private ceremony at a church, deceptively suggesting it would lead to the annulment of his marriage. The situation escalated dramatically when Praveen’s wife uncovered the affair and reported it to the jewellery store’s management, leading to Praveen’s relocation to Tamil Nadu.
Praveen later sought to terminate the relationship, but Gayathri resisted. Her subsequent act of posting photos from their fabricated ceremony on social media is believed to have intensified his anger. It is alleged that Praveen then enticed Gayathri to the lodge, where he fatally strangled her with a shawl, initially attempting to pass it off as a suicide.
With no direct eyewitnesses, the prosecution meticulously constructed its case using a combination of circumstantial and compelling forensic evidence. Medical examination reports crucial to the investigation showed that the injuries on Gayathri’s neck were inconsistent with self-inflicted harm, pointing instead to external force. Furthermore, fingerprint evidence recovered from the lodge room unequivocally matched those of the accused. Crucially, mobile phone data provided a clear timeline, tracking the movements of both the victim and Praveen on the day the tragedy unfolded.
